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of  the 

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479.1 
A5D1 


This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 


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THE    LIFE 


OF 


DR.    ANANDABAI    JOSHEE, 


A  KINSWOMAN   OF  THE  PUNDITA  RAMABAI. 


BY 


MRS.  CAROLINE  HEALEY  BALL, 

AUTHOR  OF  "THE  COLLEGE,  MARKET,  AND  COURT;"  "LETTERS  HOME 

FROM  COLORADO,  UTAH,  AND  CALIFORNIA;"    "WHAT  WE 

RBALLY  KNOW  ABOUT  SHAKESPEARE  ;  "  ETC. 


"  We  will  not  say  her  life  was  brief 

For  noble  death  is  length  of  days ; 
The  sun  that  ripens  autumn's  sheaf 

Poured  on  her  summer's  wealth  of  rays.' ' 


BOSTON: 

ROBERTS    BROTHERS. 
1888. 


Copyright,  1888, 
BY  ROBERTS  BROTHERS. 


JOHN  WILSON  AND  SON,  CAMBRIDGE. 


A  5  'T>  I 


PREFACE. 


THE  most  difficult  task  of  my  life  lay  before  me 
when  I  undertook  to  write  the  life  of  Anandabai 
Joshee.  In  copying  letters  or  using  material  fur- 
nished by  those  who  loved  her,  I  have  been 
obliged  to  moderate  the  terms  of  affection  and 
admiration  which  would  have  seemed  extravagant 
to  those  who  never  saw  her,  or  saw  her  only  after 
her  star  "drooped  toward  its  setting." 

"  I  have  never  seen  any  one  who  gave  me  so 
distinct  an  impression  of  being  '  high-born,' "  said 
a  lady  who  knew  her  slightly.  It  was  however 
not  the  record  which  stretched  over  two  thousand 
years,  which  gave  dignity  to  Anandabai's  mien, 
but  the  high-born  consciousness,  never  absent, 
that  in  spirit  she  was  the  "child  of  God." 

Without  the  generous  aid  of  Mrs.  Carpenter  of 
Eoselle,  New  Jersey,  and  of  Dr.  Bodley,  Dean  of 
the  Woman's  Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania,  the 


IV  PREFACE. 

two  friends  who  made  it  possible  for  Anandabai 
to  seek  an  education  in  this  country,  this  book 
could  not  have  been  written.  Its  rapid  sale  will 
reward  them  in  the  best  way  for  all  the  self- 
sacrifice,  hard  labor,  and  bitter  grief  which  their 
devotion  has  involved,  for  we  hope  through  that, 
to  aid  the  projects  of  her  friend  and  cousin,  the 
Pundita  Eamabai  Sarasvati. 

Our  climate  is  not  friendly  to  the  Hindu.  Al- 
ready the  cheek  of  Raniabai  has  grown  pale  and 
her  voice  weak.  If  we  love  her  and  would  aid 
her,  we  must  speed  her  on  her  way. 

I  have  been  obliged  to  allude  to  the  conduct 
and  published  writings  of  Gopal  Vinayak  Joshee 
because  they  were  involved  in  the  history  of  his 
wife.  I  have  done  it  as  lightly  and  as  briefly  as 
possible,  and  I  wish  to  say,  that  I  hardly  hold 
him  responsible  for  the  letters  to  the  "Index" 
and  "The  Open  Court,"  so  great  appears  to  have 
been  the  excitement  under  which  they  were  writ- 
ten. The  last  of  these  letters  is  full  of  mistakes 
apart  from  such  statements  as  might  be  mere  mat- 
ters of  opinion.  For  instance,  he  states  that  he 
and  Dr.  Joshee  sailed  from  New  York  Sept.  9th, 
1886.  But  on  this  day  Dr.  Joshee  was  in  the  Hos- 
pital at  Philadelphia  and  she  did  not  sail  until 
October.  Still  farther  he  speaks  of  receiving 


PREFACE.  V 

"  eighty  or  ninety "  pounds,  for  his  homeward 
journey  from  Mr.  Pattison  in  London;  but  as 
eighteen  was  all  that  was  required  to  make  up 
the  passage  money,  "  eighteen  or  nineteen  "  would 
seem  the  more  likely  sum. 

He  alludes  also  in  this  letter  to  "prejudices" 
against  the  "  Christians "  and  meditations  upon 
the  "low  character"  of  the  English,  as  if  these 
were  shared  by  Dr.  Joshee ;  but  this  we  all  know 
was  not  possible. 

One  day,  soon  after  her  arrival  in  America, 
Anandabai  amused  herself  at  Eoselle  by  writing 
her  own  "  mental  photograph  "  in  one  of  the 
Albums  commonly  sold  for  that  purpose.  The 
student  of  psychology  will  be  interested  in  com- 
paring this  suggestive  sketch  with  the  "psycho- 
metric impression"  elsewhere  alluded  to. 

In  a  letter  written  since  his  wife's  death  Mr. 
Joshee  thus  alludes  to  the  contents  of  the  eleven 
trunks  which  Anandabai  carried  back  to  India. 

"  I  have  given  the  contents  of  Dr.  Joshee's  boxes  to 
an  English  school,  the  founder  of  which  Dr.  Joshee 
greatly  admired.  They  are  arranged  in  a  nice  glass 
case  and  I  hope  they  will  be  better  cared  for  than 
they  could  be  by  me.  It  was  a  painful  thing  to  see 
them  all  again." 


VI  PREFACE. 

This  school  is  probably  at  Poonah,  and  here 
I  suppose  Mr.  Joshee  deposited  all  the  North 
American  pottery,  which  Anandabai  was  so  anx- 
ious to  obtain. 

It  was  not  until  I  had  nearly  finished  my  work 
that  I  learned  that  the  acquaintance  between 
Ramabai  and  her  cousin  began  through  the  cor- 
dial entreaty  of  the  Joshees  that  she  would  come 
and  live  with  them  at  Serampore  at  a  time  when 
she  was  bitterly  persecuted. 

The  following  letter  will  explain  itself. 

553  SOUTH  16TH  ST.,  PHILADELPHIA, 
Jan.  16th,  1888. 

MY  DEAR  MRS.  DALL,  —  Dear  Doctor  Joshee  was 
staying  ia  Serampore  when  she  invited  me  to  come 
to  her  after  my  husband's  sudden  death. 

I  did  not  know  her  personally  at  that  time,  but  had 
some  correspondence  with  her. 

My  husband  being  of  low  caste,  my  marrying  him 
was  altogether  against  the  country's  custom,  and  we 
were  despised  and  shunned  by  our  most  intimate 
friends  and  relatives. 

So  much  was  this  the  case,  that  my  husband's  own 
brother  would  not  write  to  him  for  fear  of  losing 
caste. 

Under  such  circumstances,  we  had  no  intercourse 
with  many,  and  were  too  proud  to  ask  any  favors.  I 


PREFACE.  Vii 

therefore  resolved  to  do  what  I  could  to  take  care  of 
my  baby  and  myself  independently  of  all  relatives  or 
friends.  I  made  this  promise  to  my  dear  husband 
before  he  left  me.  Therefore  I  did  not  accept  Mrs. 
Joshee's  kind  invitation  to  go  to  her  in  my  distress. 
I  was  very  grateful  to  her  all  the  same,  for  she  was 
the  only  person  in  the  whole  country  who  cared  for 
me,  such  an  outcast  had  I  become  in  the  eyes  of  my 
people.  Nor  shall  I  ever  cease  to  be  grateful  to  her 
for  this  kindness. 

With  all  good  wishes  for  the  New  Year, 
I  am,  sincerely  yours, 

EAMABAI. 

It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  print  this  letter, 
for  Gopal  must  have  united  with  Anandabai  in 
giving  this  invitation,  and  the  action  proves  him 
to  have  been  at  this  time  what  his  wife  always 
believed  him  to  be, — a  liberal  and  tender-hearted 
man. 

It  must  be  obvious  to  all  my  readers,  that  in  a 
Memoir  prepared  as  this  has  been,  there  must  be 
more  than  the  usual  liability  to  error  in  detail.  I 
have  done  all  that  I  could  to  prevent  such  errors, 
and  as  the  greater  part  of  the  book  consists  of 
Anandabai's  own  letters,  I  hope  that  no  serious 
error  is  likely  to  appear. 

Since  the  Memoir  went  to  press,  I  have  heard 


vill  PREFACE. 

from  Mrs.  Carpenter  and  the  Pundita  Ramabai, 
that  there  is  every  reason  to  suppose  that  Anan- 
dabai  was  betrothed  to  Gopal,  by  a  ceremony  con- 
sidered as  irrevocable  as  marriage,  when  she  went 
away  with  him  from  Kalyan  in  the  company  of 
her  grandmother. 

Mrs.  Carpenter  thinks  that  Anandabai  told  her 
this,  and  the  Pundita,  who  knew  nothing  of  her 
cousin  at  that  time,  is  sure  that  her  departure 
would  not  have  been  permitted  if  she  had  not 
been  betrothed. 

All  this  may  have  been  so,  but  if  it  were  it 
was  never  even  hinted  in  my  conversations  with 
Dr.  Joshee.  At  that  time  she  expected  to  send 
me  on  her  return  to  India  some  significant  ex- 
tracts from  her  family  history,  and  a  brief  outline 
of  her  own  life.  I  was  not  very  anxious  about 
details,  but  tried  to  understand  fully  the  character 
of  her  mind,  and  her  individual  emancipation  from 
tradition  and  custom. 

She  eaid  nothing  about  betrothal.  If  betrothed, 
it  is  usual  for  a  Hindu  woman  to  pass  into  the 
care  of  her  husband's  family.  Nothing  was  said 
about  this,  only  the  bitter  cry,  many  times  re- 
peated, "  I  thought  I  should  never  learn  anything 
more,  and  I  would  rather  have  died."  She  never 
said,  nor  did  I  ever  ask,  whether  she  and  her 


PREFACE.  IX 

grandmother  lived  in  the  same  house  with  Gopal 
previous  to  her  marriage,  and  as  it  is  now  too  late 
to  consult  Mr.  Joshee,  I  must  content  myself  with 
stating  the  opinion  of  Mrs.  Carpenter  and  the 
Pundita  Eamabai,  and  leave  the  text  for  the 
present  unaltered. 

In  his  memoranda  of  the  last  hours  of  his  wife, 
Mr.  Joshee  mentions  that  the  funeral  services  ex- 
tended over  thirteen  days.  It  is  customary  after 
cremation  in  Hindustan  to  scatter  the  ashes  of 
the  deceased  to  the  "four  winds." 

With  some  difficulty  and  against  the  wishes  of 
his  people,  but  doubtless  with  a  strong  desire  to 
bear  witness  to  Anandabai's  devotion  to  this  coun- 
try, Gopal  gathered  the  ashes  of  his  wife  together 
and  they  are  now  on  their  way  to  America.  The 
box  which  contains  them  will  be  buried  in  the 
Eighmie  lot  in  the  Cemetery  at  Poughkeepsie, 
where  a  suitable  stone  will  tell  the  short  story  of 
Anandabai's  life. 

In  copying  the  letters  in  which  Mrs.  Joshee 
relates  her  dreams,  or  alludes  to  her  early  expe- 
riences, I  have  felt  obliged  to  confine  myself 
strictly  to  her  own  words,  without  attempting 
comment  or  explanation.  May  this  little  book  — 
however  weak  and  imperfect  the  picture  which 
it  presents  —  stimulate  all  hearts  to  noble  charity, 


X  PEEFACE. 

and  convince  whoever  has  hitherto  doubted,  that 
God  never  leaves  any  heart,  whether  heathen  or 
civilized,  without  a  possible  witness  to  his  Being 
and  his  Nature. 

CAROLINE  HEALEY  DALL. 

1603  "0"  ST.,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C., 
March,  1888. 


A  "  MENTAL  PHOTOGRAPH." 

Written  in  Mrs,  Carpenter's  Album  at  Roselle,  Sept.  3d,  1883, 
by  Anandabai  Joshee. 

What  is  your  favorite 

1.  Color  ?    White. 

2.  Flower  ?    The  Rose. 

3.  Tree  ?    The  Mango. 

4.  Object  in  Nature  ?    Mountains. 

5.  Hour  ?    Sunrise  and  set. 

6.  Season  ?    Spring. 

7.  Perfume  ]    Jasmine. 

8.  Gem  ?    Diamond. 

9.  Style  of  beauty  ?    Perfection  of  form  and  manner. 

10.  Name,  —  male   and  female  ?     Rama,   Tara,  Annie, 

Gopal,  Vishnu,  and  Chrishna. 

11.  Painter?    I  love  all. 

12.  Musician  ?     Those  who  play  on  the  violin  and  lyre. 

13.  Piece  of  architecture  ?    The  Taj  Mahal. 

14.  Poet  ?    Pope,  Manu,  and  Kalidasa. 

15.  Poetess  1    Muktabai  and  Janabai. 

16.  Prose  author  1    Goldsmith,  Macaulay,  Addison,  Shas- 

tree  Chiptoonka. 

17.  Character  in  History  ?    Richard  Cceur  de  Lion. 

18.  Book  to  take  up  for  an  hour  1    The  Bhagavat-Gita". 
19.*  What  book,  not  a  Bible,  would  you  part  with  last  ? 

The  History  of  the  World. 

20.    What  epoch   would    you   prefer  to  live  in  ?      The 
Present. 


xii  A  "MENTAL  PHOTOGRAPH." 

21.  Where  would  you  prefer  to  live?    In  Roselle  now, 

hereafter  in  Heaven. 

22.  What  is  your  favorite  amusement  ?    Reading. 

23.*  What  is  your    favorite    occupation  1      Whatever  is 
necessary  to  the  common  comfort. 

24.  What  is  your  favorite  trait  of  character  ?    Sincerity. 

25.  What  trait  do  you  most  detest  ?     Dishonesty  and 

infidelity. 
26.*  If  not  yourself,  whom  would  you  like  to  be  ?    No 

one. 

27.*  What  is  your  idea  of  happiness  ?    Faith  in  God. 
28.*  What  is  your  idea  of  misery]    To  follow  one's  own 

win. 

29.  What  is  your  bete  noir  ?    Slavery  and  Dependence. 

30.  What  is  your  ideal  pleasure  1     To  be  rewarded  for 

what  I  do. 

31.*  What  is  your  distinguishing  characteristic?    I  have 
not  yet  found  out. 

32.  That  of  your  husband  ?    Benevolence. 

33.  What  is  the  sublimest  passion  ?    Love. 

34.  What  are  the  sweetest  words  ?    Love,  charity,  truth 

and  hope. 

35.  What  are  the  saddest  ?    Lost,  forsaken. 

36.  What  is  your  aim  ?    To  be  useful. 

37.  What  is  your  motto  ?    The  Lord  will  provide. 

*  I  have  preserved  this  photograph  in  these  pages  mainly 
for  the  sake  of  directing  attention  to  the  remarkable  answers  to 
questions  19,  23,  26,  27,  28,  and  31.  These  taken  by  them- 
selves draw  the  picture  plainly  enough.  Kalidasa  mentioned 
in  the  answer  to  the  14th  is  the  most  famous  of  Indian  drama- 
tists —  the  author  of  Sacontala.  I  have  not  been  able  to  find 
any  account  of  Muktabai,  Janabai,  or  Shastree  Chiptoonka. 


SYNOPSIS. 


ANANDABAI    JOSHEE,  M.  D. 

Daughter  of  Gunputrao  Amritaswar  Joshee  and  Gungabai 
Joshee  his  wife. 

Born  in  Poonah,  India,  March  31st,  1865.  Child  name, 
Yumna,  popularly  Jumna,  or  "  Daughter  of  the  Sun." 

Married  Gopal  Vinayak  Joshee,  March  31st,  1874.  Wife 
name  Anandabai,  or  '•'  Joy  of  my  heart." 

Sailed  from  Calcutta  for  New  York,  April  7th,  1883,  being 
the  first  unconverted  high-caste  Hindu  woman  to  leave 
her  country. 

Landed  in  New  York,  June  4th,  1883. 

Graduated  from  the  Woman's  Medical  College  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, March  llth,  1886,  being  the  first  Hindu  woman 
to  receive  the  degree  of  medicine  in  any  country. 

Appointed  June  1st,  1886,  to  the  post  ofPhysician-in-charge 
of  the  Female  Wards  of  the  Albert  Edward  Hospital, 
Kolhapur,  India. 

Sailed  from  New  York,  Oct.  9th,  1886. 
Died  in  Poonah,  India,  Feb.  26th,  1887. 


CONTENTS. 


PREFACE iii 

"MENTAL  PHOTOGRAPH"  OF  DR.  JOSHEE  WRITTEN 

BY  HERSELF   IN   1883 xi 

SYNOPSIS  OF  HER  LIFE xiii 

MEMOIR                                                  ....  15 


Illustration, 

FULL-LENGTH    PORTRAIT    OF   DR.    JOSHEE    IN    HER 

MAHRATTA  DRESS Frontispiece 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 


THE  country  which  we  call  India,  better  known 
by  the  more  familiar  name  of  Hindustan,  stretches 
from  the  Himmaleh  Mountains  to  the  Indian 
Ocean,  and  from  the  empire  of  Burmah  to  Af- 
ghanistan. It  is  eighteen  hundred  miles  long,  and 
fifteen  hundred  wide. 

In  the  last  half  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
under  its  great  Mogul  emperor  Aurung-Zebe, 
Hindustan  was  divided  into  thirty-three  provinces, 
which  very  nearly  correspond  to  the  thirty-three 
States  recognized  under  the  present  British  su- 
premacy. To  this  great  country,  so  divided,  thirty- 
three  different  languages  are  popularly  ascribed. 
These  have  a  common  foundation  in  the  Sanscrit, 
but  differ  in  their  construction  to  such  an  extent 
that  those  who  are  native  to  the  country  are 
unwilling  to  call  them  dialects.  Hindustanee, 
which  is  everywhere  spoken,  originated  at  the  time 
of  the  Mahometan  conquest,  and  was  called  by 
the  Moguls  Urdu  Zab£n,  or  "  camp  language." 


16  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

It  is  a  sort  of  lingua  franca,  and  is  used  in 
all  the  provinces  in  addition  to  the  local  speech. 
In  that  part  of  the  country  called  the  Deccan,  and 
in  the  south  of  Hindustan,  six  or  eight  languages 
are  spoken,  such  as  the  Tamil  and  the  Telinga, 
which  are  not  supposed  by  Colebrooke  or  Campbell 
to  have  any  foundation  in  the  Sanscrit. 

If  the  Hindus  originally  moved  southward  from 
central  Asia  bringing  the  Sanscrit  with  them,  they 
found  a  native  population  south  of  the  Ganges, 
and  it  is  probable  that  the  language  of  south- 
ern India  represents  that  then  spoken  by  the 
aborigines. 

In  the  northwest  of  India,  just  south  of  the 
Punjaub  and  between  Delhi  and  Scinde,  is  a  coun- 
try called  Eajpootana.  This  country  originally 
consisted  of  eight  principalities,  stretching  over 
wide  deserts  and  through  mountain  passes,  nur- 
turing a  sturdy  population  able  to  endure  cold 
and  hunger,  and  standing  in  such  a  relation  to  the 
rest  of  Hindustan  as  the  townsmen  of  Galilee  once 
stood  toward  the  people  of  Palestine.  Until  the 
British  took  possession  of  the  country  they  were 
called  "  robbers  and  murderers."  Yet  in  the  town 
now  called  Eajapore,  at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  the  great  religious  sect  called  the  Sikhs 
was  founded  by  Nanac  Shah.  The  Sikhs  worship 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHED.08 

one  pure  invisible  God ;  they  have  a  sacred  scrip- 
ture, which  they  keep  in  a  small  temple  sur- 
rounded by  the  waters  of  the  Golden  Lotus. 
Their  creed  was  intended  by  Nanac  as  a  compro- 
mise between  that  of  the  Brahmins  and  that  of 
Mahomet,  and  it  is  very  singular  that  it  should 
have  taken  root  among  the  Eajpoots,  because  they, 
of  all  the  peoples  of  the  country,  remained  uncon- 
quered  by  the  Moguls.  The  name  "  Sikhs"  had  been 
once  confined  to  the  Eajpoots,  it  means  "lions," 
and  had  been  given  to  them  as  the  first  military 
order  among  the  Hindus.  When  religious  perse- 
cution gave  the  followers  of  Nanac  an  opportu- 
nity to  show  their  mettle,  the  name  of  "  lions,"  or 
Sikhs,  was  transferred  from  their  oppressors  to 
themselves,  and  is  still  retained. 

To  speak  properly  of  the  history  of  the  peo- 
ples or  languages  of  Hindustan  requires  a  pro- 
found scholarship,  which  I  am  far  from  claiming ; 
but  a  few  words  concerning  it  were  necessary 
before  we  could  enter  on  the  life  of  Anandabai 
Joshee.  It  must  be  understood  clearly  in  advance 
that  the  Hindus  are  not  one  people,  do  not  speak 
one  language,  and  that  the  customs  and  history  of 
one  province  are  not  the  customs  and  history  of 
any  other.  The  Sikhs  and  the  Eajpoots  are  well 
known  by  name  to  the  students  of  the  history  of 
2 


18  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

British  India,  but  their  doings  have  been  eclipsed 
during  the  last  two  centuries  by  the  prowess  of  the 
Mahrattas.  The  origin  of  this  people  is  wholly 
obscure  to  Europeans ;  but  Anandabai  asserted  that 
they  themselves  possessed  the  records  of  two  thou- 
sand years  of  independent  existence.  They  are 
supposed  to  be  an  offshoot  of  the  mountaineers  of 
Eajpootan,  driven  south  by  stress  of  famine  and 
war.  They  first  became  known  to  Europeans  a 
little  after  the  year  1300,  but  they  were  well  es- 
tablished in  the  possession  of  the  great  city  of 
Poonah  at  that  time,  and  were  carrying  on  de- 
structive wars  with  other  native  States.  The  Mah- 
rattas assert  that  they  were  never  conquered  by 
the  Moguls. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  original  Hindu  scrip- 
tures to  require  the  seclusion  or  subjection  of 
women.  The  Hindus  assert  that  this  originated 
after  the  Mahometan  conquest,  in  consequence 
of  the  licentious  boldness  of  the  Moslem  sol- 
diery; but  there  is  evidence  that  it  began  to  be 
practised  as  early  as  the  eighth  century.  If  this 
were  so,  the  zenana  probably  originated  in  the 
brutalities  of  the  early  internecine  contests,  and 
was  confirmed  not  more  by  the  violence  than 
the  habits  of  the  Mahometan  conquerors.  It 
would  have  been  necessary  to  secure  respect  for 


LIFE   OF   ANANDABAI   JOSHEE.  19 

women  among  the  new-comers  by  secluding  them, 
as  they  themselves  secluded  their  own  women. 
The  name  of  Mahrattas  was  given  to  this  people 
because,  when  they  broke  away  from  the  original 
home  of  the  Eajpoots,  driven  by  war  or  famine  or 
the  Cossack's  love  of  adventure,  they  settled  in 
a  district  of  Dowlatabad,  to  the  south  of  Bombay, 
which  was  called  Mharat. 

In  the  early  period  of  its  history,  the  Mahratta 
people  seem  to  have  been  governed  in  a  feudal 
fashion.  It  was  the  custom  of  the  reigning  Rajah 
to  reward  his  favorites  for  any  service  rendered, 
by  large  grants  of  land,  or  delegated  sovereign 
powers.  By  degrees  there  grew  up  a  nobility 
bearing  the  state  of  princes,  sometimes  indepen- 
dent of  the  Government,  sometimes  tributary  to  it, 
but  for  the  most  part  true  to  its  supremacy. 

It  was  not  until  1818,  when  the  successive 
Rajahs  of  the  Mahrattas  had  been  in  turn  the 
prisoners  of  the  successive  ministers  of  State  for 
more  than  a  century,  that,  worn  out  by  intestine 
divisions,  the  people  asked  the  protection  of  the 
British  Government,  and  surrendered  a  large  part 
of  the  district  of  Poonah.  Five  hundred  years 
ago  the  reigning  Rajah,  in  a  hot  contest  with 
a  neighboring  province,  trusted  the  conduct  of 
his  forces  to  a  young  general  of  the  Joshee  family 


20  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

not  yet  twenty-one  years  of  age.  Success  fol- 
lowed success,  until  his  sovereign  finally  recalled 
him,  to  endow  him  with  a  palace  in  Poonah  and  a 
principality  of  sixty  villages.  He  came  back  from 
the  field  to  he  received  with  flaming  torches  and 
gorgeous  processions,  and  was  allowed  an  hour's 
stay  with  his  young  wife.  He  knelt,  kissed  his 
sovereign's  hand,  departed,  and  lost  his  life  in 
the  next  fray.  He  died  before  he  was  twenty- 
one,  and  left  an  only  child,  from  whom  Anandabai 
was  descended.  Her  father  was  Gunputrao  Amri- 
taswar  Joshee,  her  mother  was  Gungabai  Durbagai 
Joshee ;  and  as  women  do  not  take  the  names  of 
their  husbands  in  India,  it  is  evident  that  the  father 
and  mother  were  descended  from  the  same  stem. 

If  I  understand  properly  the  record  I  took 
down  from  her  lips,  Anandabai  was  the  sixth  of 
ten  children.  Of  her  four  brothers,  two  died 
before  her.  Of  the  five  sisters,  the  first  and 
fourth  are  dead. 

There  are  still  living  her  brothers, 

Damodhar  Ganesh-Joshee  and 

Vinayak  Ganesh  Joshee,  as  well  as  the  three 
sisters, 

Kasheebai  Ganesh  Joshee, 

Waranusheebai  Oomabai  Onkar,  and 

Sundrabai  Ganesh  Joshee. 


LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI   JOSHEE.  21 

The  steady  insertion  of  the  name  of  Ganesh 
doubtless  bears  some  relation  to  the  mother's 
family ;  and  Waranusheebai,  a  sister  older  than 
the  subject  of  our  story,  was  married,  and  is  a 
widow  in  easy  circumstances. 

At  Poonah,  in  the  Bombay  Presidency,  in  the 
very  palace  that  had  been  given  by  the  Eajah  to 
her  victorious  ancestor,  there  was  born  on  the 
31st  of  March,  1865,  a  little  brown  baby,  whose 
future  no  one  suspected.  On  the  eleventh  day 
she  was  called  Yamuna,  or  Yumna,  Daughter  of 
the  Sun,  after  the  sacred  river  popularly  called 
Jumna,  —  a  name  which  she  bore  until  her  mar- 
riage. The  little  that  we  know  of  her  childhood 
only  piques  our  desire  to  know  more.  Her  father 
is  described  by  her  cousin  Ramabai  as  "a  rich 
landholder  of  Kalyan,  a  town  a  little  to  the  north 
of  Bombay,  where  he  was  warmly  regarded  by  the 
high  caste  people."  The  palace  at  Poonah  was 
still  in  the  possession  of  her  grandparents  and  an 
uncle  of  her  mother's,  who  was  a  distinguished 
Hindu  physician. 

It  was  to  avail  herself  of  this  physician's  ser- 
vices that  Gungabai  had  gone  to  Poonah  a  short 
time  before  her  daughter's  birth.  Yamuna  grew 
up  between  Poonah  and  Kalyan.  She  was  from 
the  first  a  great  pet  of  her  father,  and  her  hap- 


22  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

piest  hours  were  passed  upon  his  knee,  under  a 
great  plane-tree  in  the  Kalyan  garden,  where  he 
went  to  rest  every  day  after  dinner.  He  owned 
many  villages,  and  for  the  benefit  of  his  servants 
and  peasantry  and  after  the  manner  of  European 
landholders,  he  kept  a  chaplain.  It  was  the 
duty  of  the  priest  who  held  this  office  to  offer 
prayer  and  sacrifice,  to  instruct  the  people,  and 
also  to  cleanse  the  shrines  and  images  of  the  gods. 
Yamuna  had  never  thought  of  the  priest  in  a  seri- 
ous way,  and  was  only  four  years  old  when  she 
sat  one  day  playing  with  her  dolls  and  watching 
him  as  he  washed  the  little  images  of  jade, 
bitumen,  or  metal,  and  oiled  them  carefully  be- 
fore setting  them  back  on  their  shrines.  Suddenly 
it  flashed  into  her  mind  that  there  was  no  differ- 
ence between  these  images  and  her  dolls.  They 
did  not  move;  they  lay  passive  in  the  hand  of 
the  priest.  They  did  not  cry  like  children  when 
he  rubbed  them  hard,  nor  rejoice  when  he  left 
them  to  themselves.  Very  eagerly  she  waited  for 
her  father  to  finish  his  dinner,  and  then  seizing 
his  hand  ran  away  to  the  bench  under  the  plane- 
tree. 

"  Papa,"  she  exclaimed,  hardly  waiting  to  get 
her  breath,  "  how  can  a  god  bear  to  have  his  face 
washed  by  a  man  ? "  And  then,  not  waiting  for 


LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  23 

any  answer,  from  the  astonished  Gunputrao,  she 
went  on  to  tell  him  what  she  had  seen,  and  how 
the  images  lay  in  the  priest's  hand  as  if  they  had 
been  her  dolls. 

"  Those  images  are  not  gods,"  replied  her  father ; 
"  they  are  made  to  hold  the  thoughts  of  men  to 
God  while  they  pray.  Some  of  them  represent 
the  love,  and  some  the  justice  of  God,  and  some 
only  his  creative  power.  My  little  daughter,  can 
you  pray  to  God  without  looking  at  any  of  those 
images  ? " 

"  Yes,  indeed !  "  replied  the  child. 

"  Then  you  need  never  think  of  them  again," 
was  the  reply ;  "  they  will  be  of  no  use  to  you." 

"And  I  never  did,"  continued  his  daughter,  very 
simply,  when  she  told  the  story. 

The  only  other  incident  relating  to  this  period 
of  her  life  which  is  known  to  me  has  a  truly  Ori- 
ental flavor.  Anandabai  was  neither  a  spiritualist 
nor  a  theosophist ;  but  from  her  earliest  childhood 
she  dwelt  apart,  believed  in  a  spiritual  world  which 
was  even  nearer  to  her  than  the  world  she  touched, 
and  held  herself  always  ready  to  listen  to  "  occult " 
voices  and  accept  "  occult "  experiences. 

There  was  in  her  home  an  immense  genealogi- 
cal record  of  the  Joshees.  It  stretched  over  two 
thousand  years,  had  been  kept  by  the  head  of 


24  LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

the  family  in  each  generation,  and  was  illustrated 
by  painted  pictures  of  the  costumes  worn  by  its 
heroes,  and  the  events  briefly  described  on  it.  I 
imagine  it  was  a  roll.  It  was  written  on  a  sacred 
paper  kept  expressly  for  such  uses,  from  which 
no  word  could  ever  be  effaced,  emulating  in  this 
respect  the  tablets  of  the  recording  angel.  As  it 
was  always  kept  under  lock  and  key,  Anandabai 
thought  that  she  had  never  seen  it,  and  knew  noth- 
ing about  it,  when  she  had  the  following  dream. 
She  had  gone  to  bed  as  usual,  at  some  time  be- 
fore she  was  five  years  old,  when  there  suddenly 
appeared  to  her  the  figure  of  a  young  and  hand- 
some man,  dressed  in  a  manner,  and  carrying 
weapons,  that  she  had  never  seen. 

"  Who  are  you  ?  "  she  said,  like  any  frightened 
child,  when  he  fixed  his  eyes  upon  her. 

"  Do  you  not  know  who  I  am  ?  "  he  said 
gravely. 

"No." 

"  Go  then  to  your  father,"  resumed  the  soldier, 
"  and  tell  him  to  make  you  acquainted  with  my 
life ;  for  it  is  you  who  are  to  tread  in  my  foosteps." 

At  this  she  waked,  bathed  in  perspiration  and 
trembling.  In  the  morning  she  went  to  her 
father  and  earnestly  entreated  him  to  tell  her 
about  the  "  god  "  whom  she  had  seen.  Gunputrao 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  25 

was  unable  to  identify  the  figure  from  Yamuna's 
description,  but  in  the  midst  of  many  words,  which 
I  have  forgotten,  the  soldier  had  said,  — 

"  It  is  ungrateful  to  be  ignorant  of  him  whose 
blood  flows  in  your  veins." 

From  these  words  Gunputrao  felt  certain  that 
it  was  one  of  his  own  ancestors  who  had  appeared 
to  his  daughter,  and  he  reverently  opened  his 
family  roll.  At  last  they  came  to  a  figure  that 
Yamuna  recognized  at  once  as  that  of  the  man 
who  had  appeared  to  her.  It  was  that  of  the 
young  general  who  had  founded  the  fortunes  of 
her  family,  and  in  whose  palace  she  had  been 
born.  From  that  time  Gunputrao  was  even  more 
tender  toward  his  daughter ;  he  not  only  gave  her 
whatever  she  desired,  but  he  paid  special  atten- 
tion to  her  education. 

-.  The  Mahrattas  have  never  secluded  their  women ; 
they  walk  the  streets  as  securely  and  openly  as 
those  of  Europe  or  America.  Anandabai  thought 
this  was  because  they  had  never  been  exposed  to 
the  insolence  of  a  Mogul  conqueror ;  but  perhaps 
it  was  also  because  the  tribe  began  its  existence 
in  rough  mountain  passes,  away  from  the  "busy 
haunts  of  men." 

It  was  when  she  was  living  a  free  life  like  that 
of  a  little  country  child  in  America,  but  with  the 


26  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

character  and  intellectual  development  only  pos- 
sible to  an  American  child  of  twice  her  age,  that 
her  first  opportunity  came  to  her..  Gopal  Vinyak 
Joshee  was  appointed  a  clerk  in  the  Postal  De- 
partment of  Bombay  in  1870,  when  Yamuna  was 
only  five  years  old.  As  he  was  a  stranger  in  those 
parts,  he  eagerly  sought  the  acquaintance  of  the 
head  of  his  own  family  in  that  neighborhood. 
Gunputrao  was  an  educated  man.  He  had  organ- 
ized a  school  in  one  of  the  large  rooms  of  the 
house  in  which  he  lived,  and  saw  at  once  that 
Gopal's  knowledge  of  Sanscrit  would  be  of  great 
advantage  to  Yamuna. 

I  never  learned  at  what  hours,  or  in  what  man- 
ner, Gopal  taught;  but  Yamuna  remained  under 
his  care  for  nearly  three  years,  when  Gopal  was 
promoted  to  be  post-master  at  Alibag,  with  an 
increase  of  salary,  and  at  once  prepared  to  leave 
the  neighborhood.  Yamuna's  grief  could  not  be 
repressed.  "I  thought  I  should  never  learn  any 
more,"  she  said ;  "  and  I  would  rather  have  died." 
Forgetting  her  love  for  father  and  mother,  indif- 
ferent to  brothers  and  sisters,  she  begged  permis- 
sion to  go  away  with  Gopal.  Her  father  was 
sorely  puzzled.  Although  only  eight  years  of  age, 
Yamuna  was  now  marriageable. 

It  is  not  likely,  from  what  followed,  that  her 


LIFE   OF   ANANDABAI   JOSHEE.  27 

mother  approved  of  her  studies,  or  her  removal 
from  her  father's  house;  but  the  subservient  po- 
sition of  a  Hindu  wife  prevented  her  expressing 
any  opinion.  In  this  emergency,  the  grandmother 
from  Poonah  —  the  mother's  mother  —  came  to 
Yamuna's  aid.  "  I  will  go  with  her,"  she  said, 
"and  I  will  shield  her  as  if  she  were  my  own." 
She  did  go,  and  as  long  as  she  lived  her  grand- 
child was  reverently  grateful  for  the  service. 

I  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain  the  exact 
locality  of  Alibag ;  I  suppose  it  was  in  the  Bom- 
bay Presidency,  and  it  must  have  been  a  small 
native  town,  as  the  salary  Gopal  received  as  post- 
master was  but  little  more  than  that  given  him 
as  a  clerk  in  Bombay.  It  was  probably  a  Mah- 
ratta  village  not  far  from  Kalyan,  or  the  mother 
of  Gungabai  would  hardly  have  been  willing  to 
go  to  it.  At  all  events,  when  a  third  removal  was 
made  to  Bhooj,  the  capital  of  Cutch,  the  grand- 
mother returned  home.  From  Alibag,  Gopal  had 
been  transferred  to  Kolhapur,  and  it  was  probably 
there  that  the  grandmother  parted  with  the  child, 
who  was  soon  to  be  married  to  Gopal. 

Yamuna  was  now  older  than  most  Hindu  girls 
are  when  they  marry,  but  she  had  never  thought 
of  marriage.  Pursuing  her  studies  with  an  eager- 
ness that  few  women  in  any  country  could  under- 


28  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

stand,  all  that  she  cared  for  was  to  remain  with 
her  teacher  and  continue  her  work.  When  there- 
fore the  marriage  was  proposed,  no  objection  was 
made  to  it.  Gopal  was  a  widower,  and  he  would 
have  been  scarcely  human  if  he  had  not  been 
touched  by  the  devotion  of  his  young  pupil  He 
was  an  educated  man,  respected  by  his  own  people, 
and  twenty  years  older  than  Yamuna.  It  is  not 
likely  that  any  charge  had  ever  been  brought 
against  his  character ;  for  Gunputrao,  who  entered 
cheerfully  into  the  arrangements  for  the  wedding, 
was  not  a  man  to  overlook  that.  Yamuna  was 
married  on  the  31st  of  March,  1874,  the  day  on 
which  she  completed  her  ninth  year. 

A  Hindu  woman  can  make  no  claim  upon  her 
father's  estate.  When  she  marries,  the  father 
agrees  to  give  to  her  husband  a  certain  sum,  if 
he  is  rich  and  able,  and  he  endows  his  daughter 
with  such  clothing,  jewels,  and  utensils  as  he 
chooses.  Yamuna  was  her  father's  favorite,  and 
he  had  a  trembling  sense  of  the  remarkable  life 
she  was  to  lead,  based  upon  the  dream  which  they 
had  interpreted  together.  He  gave  her  abun- 
dantly of  his  great  wealth,  —  superb  cashmeres, 
Dacca  muslins  bordered  with  gold,  delicate  jewels, 
bangles  and  anklets  of  solid  gold,  and  ornaments 
that  were  heirlooms  and  would  ordinarily  have 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  29 

gone  to  a  son.  Still  another  thing  showed  his 
high  trust  in  her :  she  was  allowed  to  carry  away 
from  her  home  some  of  the  most  valued  and  sacred 
of  the  household  gods,  and  the  relics  connected 
with  them. 

In  an  official  statement  made  lately  at  Poonah, 
Gopal  gives  me  the  dates  for  this  portion  of  my 
story,  but  he  does  not  give  the  exact  date  of  his 
removal  to  Bhooj,  the  capital  of  the  province  of 
Cutch.  I  am  constrained  to  think  it  occurred  in 
the  spring  of  1874,  from  the  circumstances.  Ya- 
muna must  have  gone  home  to  be  married ;  and 
although  her  grandmother  might  well  hesitate  to 
go  with  her  several  hundred  miles  to  the  north- 
west, to  an  unknown  and  undesirable  location 
like  that  of  Cutch,  there  was  no  apparent  reason 
why  she  should  not  remain  at  Kolhapur.  As 
Cutch  was  within  the  Bombay  Presidency,  Gopal 
was  undoubtedly  obliged  to  report  at  Bombay,  in 
removing  from  Kolhapur  to  Cutch,  and  either 
Poonah  or  Kalyan  could  be  taken  in  the  direct 
route  to  his  new  home. 

Four  days  after  her  marriage,  in  conformity  to 
the  custom  of  the  Mahrattas,  and  the  more  com- 
pletely to  affiliate  her  to  her  husband's  family, 
Yamuna  dropped  the  name  by  which  her  father's 
loving  lips  had  called  her,  and  assumed  that  of 


30  LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

Anandabai,  or  "  Joy  of  iny  Heart,"  by  which  she 
was  afterward  known.  Up  to  this  time  she  had 
suffered  no  peculiar  hardships.  Her  husband  was 
poor,  but  his  salary  was  equal  to  their  modest 
wants.  The  proposal  of  marriage,  according  to 
the  custom  of  the  country,  came  from  the  wife's 
family;  and  the  father  of  Anandabai  could  not  have 
been  ignorant  of  the  character  of  the  province  to 
which  his  child  was  now  going.  He  believed  that 
this  young  daughter  was  to  follow  in  the  footsteps 
of  her  great  ancestor  so  far  as  to  shed  a  fresh 
lustre  on  the  name  of  her  family.  The  sacredness 
attached  to  her  vision  spurred  him  to  aid  her  in 
every  way  that  he  could.  At  this  moment  he 
could  hardly  be  expected  to  see  how  her  removal 
to  a  distant  and  demoralized  province  could  de- 
velop her  destiny. 

The  "island"  of  dutch  must  be  nearly  four 
hundred  miles  to  the  northwest  of  Kalyan  or 
Bombay.  Surrounded  on  three  sides  by  water, 
and  bounded  on  the  other  by  an  immense  salt- 
marsh  produced  by  the  earthquake  of  1819, 
Cutch  is  an  island  only  during  the  rainy  sea- 
son. This  marsh,  or  "runn,"  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  long  by  sixty  wide,  furnishes  a  hiding- 
place  for  criminals  and  bandits.  The  country 
produces  cotton,  gum,  and  nuts,  which  are  sent 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI   JOSHEE.  31 

in  native  vessels  to  Africa,  three  thousand  miles 
away,  where  they  are  exchanged  for  ivory  and 
hides,  and  to  Guzerat,  where  the  mariners  ex- 
change cotton  for  grain.  Twenty  years  before 
Gopal  and  Anandabai  went  to  Bhooj,  the  town  is 
described  as  consisting  of  low,  mean  dwellings, 
so  crowned  by  white  mosques  and  temples,  shaded 
by  date-trees,  as  to  present  a  picturesque  appear- 
ance at  a  distance.  It  is  a  fortified  town,  stand- 
ing half-way  up  a  MIL  The  people  are  of  Eajpoot 
descent,  but  more  than  half  the  population  pro- 
fess a  sort  of  spurious  Mahometanism,  adhering 
to  many  Hindu  observances.  This  is  especially 
true  of  the  Jharejah  tribe,  to  which  the  reigning 
prince  belongs.  Neither  its  morals  nor  its  man- 
ners bear  out  the  boast  of  virtuous  simplicity 
Gopal  was  so  fond  of  making.  It  had  a  popula- 
tion of  twelve  thousand  adults  at  the  time  of 
which  I  speak,  and  the  universal  practice  of  fe- 
male infanticide  had  reduced  the  number  of  native 
women  to  thirty !  The  people  were  then  ignorant, 
indolent,  and  drunken,  and  obliged,  of  course,  to 
procure  their  wives  from  other  tribes.  The  Re- 
ports to  the  House  of  Commons  show  a  terrible 
local  demoralization. 

Anandabai  did  not  like  her  neighbors ;   and  I 
think  it  must  have  been  here,  in  her  tenth  year, 


.32  LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

that  she  began  to  do  her  own  cooking,  cleaning 
her  brass  vessels,  and  tossing  up  her  pastry  in 
hands  like  those  of  a  Greek  model.  Hard  work 
she  had  never  known.  It  began  here  with  the 
necessity  of  repression,  some  regard  to  the  pro- 
prieties of  womanhood,  and  a  desire  to  escape 
from  the  influences  around  her.  She  never  com- 
plained either  then  or  afterward  of  anything  in 
her  lot ;  but  she  said,  "  I  was  never  at  home 
there."  It  was  a  religious  ceremony,  making  mar- 
riage irrevocable,  which  she  had  entered  into  in 
the  spring  of  1874. 

When  the  second  ceremony,  consummating  the 
marriage,  took  place,  I  do  not  know;  but  Anan- 
dabai's  only  child  was  born  in  her  fourteenth  year, 
probably  at  Kolhapur,  some  time  early  in  1878, 
as  Gopal  wrote  from  that  town  in  1878  and  1879. 
It  lived  about  ten  days,  and  died,  as  Anandabai 
thought,  because  it  did  not  have  a  competent 
physician.  It  was  this  that  first  led  her  to  think 
of  studying  medicine.  "  A  child's  death  does  no 
harm  to  its  father,"  she  once  said,  "  but  its  mother 
does  not  want  it  to  die." 

In  all  the  thoughts  and  schemes  that  grew  out 
of  her  bereavement  her  husband  seems  to  have 
shared;  and  those  who  heard  him  speak  in  this 
country  will  hardly  understand  the  letter  ad- 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  33 

dressed  to  one  of  the  Presbyterian  missionaries 
from  Kolhapur  on  the  4th  of  September,  1878. 
It  is  probable  that  he  had  come  into  contact  with 
the  missionaries  in  every  town  in  which  he  had 
lived.  He  kept  a  steady  eye  to  the  advantages 
to  be  gained  by  Anandabai's  thorough  education, 
and  perhaps  he  was  not  perfectly  frank  when  he 
wished  to  gain  their  co-operation.  When  his 
wife's  proud  heart  took  fire  at  certain  indignities, 
it  was  he  who  urged  her  to  go  back  to  the  school 
in  Bombay.  At  all  events,  his  learning  and  in- 
telligence won  a  certain  hearing  for  this  letter. 
It  was  forwarded  to  the  "  Missionary  Eeview " 
published  at  Princeton,  and  printed  in  January, 
1879.  Gopal  expresses  a  warm  interest  in  female 
education,  and  says  that  he  should  be  glad  to  live 
in  America  if  his  wife  could  study  there.  The 
letter  was  supported  by  one  of  the  local  mission- 
aries in  terms  which  showed  that  he  based  this 
support  on'  what  he  thought  a  rational  expectation 
of  Gopal's  conversion. 

Dr.  Wilder,  the  editor  of  the  "  Eeview,"  seems 
to  have  published  these  letters  chiefly  for  the  pur- 
pose of  printing  his  own  reply,  written  Oct.  14, 
1878.  In  this  letter  he  thoroughly  discourages 
Gopal's  project.  He  evidently  does  not  wish 
any  unconverted  Hindu  to  come  to  America ;  he 

3 


34  LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSIIEE. 

believes  that  his  intelligent  correspondent  will  be 
led  to  "  confess  Christ,"  and  trusts  to  the  mission 
schools  to  educate  Mrs.  Joshee  sufficiently.  Little 
did  he  think  that  this  very  letter  would  be  the 
means  of  bringing  her  to  this  country.  At  various 
times  it  has  aroused  the  indignation  of  Ananda- 
bai's  friends;  but  from  a  somewhat  wide  experi- 
ence of  male  Hindus,  I  cannot  consider  their  visits 
to  the  West  profitable  to  others  or  themselves. 
With  the  single  exception  of  the  author  of  "  The 
Oriental  Christ,"  I  have  seen  no  Hindu  who 
seemed  to  me  prepared  intellectually  and  morally 
for  the  freedom  he  would  find  in  American  soci- 
ety; nor  are  Americans  prepared  for  the  air  of 
innocence  and  exaltation  worn  by  very  undeserv- 
ing Orientals.  !  I  have  no  doubt  that  Dr.  Wilder 
honestly  shrank  from  the  possibilities ;  and  I 
differ  from  him  only  in  this  :  I  do  not  think  any 
"conversion"  works  a  miracle  in  a  man's  intel- 
lectual status;  and  I  do  not  think  Gopal,  if  he 
had  "  confessed  Christ,"  would  have  been  one  bit 
better  able  to  understand  his  environment  in 
America  than  he  proved  himself  while  walking 
in  the  shadows  of  the  old  Vedas.  lit  is  not  learn- 
ing, intellect,  subtlety,  or  imagination  that  is  want- 
ing in  the  average  Hindu ;  it  is  purity,  faith,  and 
honesty.! 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  35 

So  felt  I  before  I  had  seen  this  Hindu  woman, 
and  now  I  pity  every  one  who  was  not  privileged 
to  see  and  know  her. 

Let  us  see  what  became  of  Dr.  Wilder's  letter. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1880  a  lady  almost  as 
remarkable  in  philanthropy  and  spirituality  as 
Anandabai  herself,  went  from  the  little  town  of 
Eoselle,  in  New  Jersey,  to  see  her  dentist  in  Eliza- 
beth. Upon  the  dentist's  table,  among  other 
interesting  things,  lay  the  old  number  of  the 
"Missionary  Eeview,"  and  she  took  it  up  to 
wile  away  the  moments  of  waiting.  She  knew 
nothing  of  Hindustan  or  its  people.  Gopal's  letter 
seemed  to  her  a  genuine  cry  for  help,  and  her  whole 
soul  was  roused  to  indignation  by  the  brutal  man- 
ner in  which  she  thought  this  cry  was  repulsed. 
In  the  tumult  of  her  mind  she  copied  the  address, 
and  then  as  she  went  slowly  home  she  remem- 
bered that  she  knew  nothing  of  British  India, 
nothing  of  possible  ways  or  means,  and  she  put 
the  whole  subject  out  of  her  mind.  The  next 
morning  it  returned ;  she  could  not  get  rid  of  the 
impression  that  it  belonged  to  her  to  answer  that 
letter. 

Early  in  March,  1880,  Mrs.  Carpenter  wrote 
to  Gopal,  usiug  the  Kolhapur  address;  but  after 
the  migratory  fashion  of  the  British  office,  the 


36  LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

postmaster  had  meanwhile  left  that  town  for 
Bombay,  and  was  now  among  the  dreary  hills  of 
Bhooj.  In  this  letter  she  offered  the  shelter  of 
her  own  home  to  the  young  wife  in  whom  she 
had  already  begun  to  feel  a  tender  interest.  It 
was  some  months  before  she  received  a  reply, 
which  led  directly  to  the  freest  correspondence 
with  Anandabai.  The  strength  and  sweetness  of 
Mrs.  Carpenter's  letters  seem  to  have  won  Anan- 
dabai's  confidence  at  once.  In  a  very  little  while 
she  had  adopted  Mrs.  Carpenter  into  her  family, 
called  her  her  aunt,  and  wrote  of  the  children  at 
Eoselle  as  her  cousins. 

"  Then  began  for  me,"  writes  Mrs.  Carpenter,  "  a 
regular  course  of  education  in  Hindu  manners,  cus- 
toms, religious  rites,  and  everything  of  interest  which 
her  ready  pen  and  remarkable  mastery  of  English 
could  set  forth,  while  I  in  return  answered  all  her 
queries.  Newspapers,  magazines,  pictures,  flowers, 
and  seeds  were  exchanged.  The  exchange  of  pho- 
tographs was  most  interesting  to  me,  because  of  the 
peculiar  style  of  dress.  How  strange  seemed  the 
bare  arms  with  many  bracelets,  the  bare  space  un- 
der one  arm,  the  bare  feet  with  their  anklets  and 
toe-rings,  and  the  mark  on  the  forehead  !  That  I 
should  be  corresponding  with  a  young  woman  dressed 
like  this  who  could  write  elegant  English  seemed 


NORMAL  SCHtti, 

x  Cal. 
LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  37 

past  belief.  I  was  puzzled  by  a  blemish  on  the  upper 
lip ;  and  in  response  to  my  inquiries,  Auandabai  wrote  : 
'  It  is  the  nose-ring  that  you  see  in  my  photograph, 
between  my  nose  and  my  lip.  It  consists  of  one  gold 
wire,  upon  which  are  fastened  pearls,  some  pendent  and 
others  fixed  and  star-shaped.  We  are  fond  of  many 
ornaments.  -Our  hands,  feet,  necks,  and  waists  are 

all  adorned  "  to  the  teeth."     Even  our  noses  and  ears 

- 
are  bored  in  many  places  to  hold  them.     Holes  are 

bored  through  the  lower  part  of  the  left  nostril  for 
the  nose-ring,  and  all  around  the  edge  of  the  ear  for 
jewels.  This  may  appear  barbarous  to  the  foreign 
eye ;  to  us  it  is  a  beauty !  Everything  changes  with 
the  clime.  ^  The  Mahratta  dresses  and  ornaments  are 
quite  diffelrent  from  those  in  use  in  other  parts  of 
India.'  We  exchanged  locks  of  hair,  although  Anan- 
dabai  said  it  was  not  the  custom  of  her  people  ;  only 
widows  were  allowed  to  cut  their  hair." 

In  writing  of  widows  at  another  time,  she  said 
to  Mrs.  Carpenter:  — 

"To  tell  you  the  truth,  I  shudder  at  the  very 
sound  of  the  word.  [  Your  American  widows  may 
have  difficulties  and  inconveniences  to  struggle  with, 
but  weighed  in  the  scale  against  ours,  all  of  them  put 
together  are  but  as  a  particle  against  a  mountainA 
i  When  we  began  to  write,  I  cared  little  for  letters ; 
but  I  now  see  how  the  daily  occurrences  of  life,  which 
I  thought  so  trifling,  may  yield  instruction." 


38  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

Later  she  continued  :  — 

"I  wish  to  preserve  my  manners  and  customs, 
unless  they  are  detrimental  to  my  health.  Can  I 
live  in  your  country  as  if  I  were  in  my  own,  and 
what  will  it  cost  me  1  When  I  think  over  the  suf- 
ferings of  women  in  India  in  all  ages,  I  am  impatient 
to  see  the  Western  light  dawn  as  the  harbinger  of 
emancipation.  \I  am  not  able  to  say  what  I  think, 
but  no  man  or 'woman  should  depend  upon  another 
for  maintenance  and  necessaries.  Family  discord  and 
social  degradation  will  never  end  till  each  depends 
upon  herself." 

At  this  time,  not  being  very  well,  Anandabai 
went  to  Kalyan.  From  this  town  she  sent  some 
silver  filigree  from  Cutch  to  her  friends ;  and  later 
she  continues :  — 

"We  reached  Calcutta  on  the  4th  of  April,  1881. 
The  flowers  I  sent  you  from  Cutch  were  wild  flowers. 
I  had  made  a  garden  in  my  compound  there,  but 
I  had  no  liking  for  the  care  of  it,  and  I  owe  you  a 
great  debt  for  urging  me  to  undertake  it." 

And  she  goes  on  to  tell  how  flowers  are  used  in 
the  Hindu  religious   services,   how  each  god  is 
supposed  to  have  his  favorite  flowers,  trees,  and 
plants,  and  speaks  of  their  specific  virtues. 
In  May  she  wrote  very  despondently  of  her 


LIFE  OF   ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  39 

own  health,  and  of  coming  to  America,  and  goes 
on:  — 

"We  have  met  with  so  many  misfortunes  that  I 
do  not  think  my  husband  will  continue  long  in  the 
service.  We  have  no  friends  here.  Our  diet,  man- 
ners, and  customs  are  different  from  those  of  the 
Bengalis ;  nor  can  we  ask  sympathy  from  the  English. 
We  live  in  the  house  of  a  German  milliner.  When 
I  came,  all  the  servants  gathered  round  to  have  a 
look  at  me,  and  the  lady  peeped  through  her  window 
and  laughed.  If  we  read  to  each  other,  she  begs  us 
to  stop  because  her  children  cannot  go  to  sleep.  She 
told  some  people  that  we  quarrelled  all  night,  and 
asserted  that  I  was  not  a  married  woman.  For  a 
fortnight  we  could  not  get  enough  to  eat,  although 
our  pockets  were  full.  Our  '  kit,'  containing  baggage, 
bedding,  and  clothing,  remained  behind,  and  we  had 
to  sleep  on  mats.  The  ground  was  damp.  Such  a 
thing  had  never  happened  to  us  before.  You  see  how 
hard  it  is  to  travel  where  we  have  no  friends.  What 
would  happen  to  us  in  your  country  1 

"  Our  great  Raja  Harischandra  was  persecuted  like 
the  Job  of  your  Bible.  He  was  deprived  of  his  all, 
of  his  wife  and  child,  but  he  did  not  break  his  vow. 
When  he  stood  the  test,  God  restored  all  to  him." 

Hope  still  cheered  Anandabai,  although  her  hus- 
band seems  wholly  to  have  lost  courage.  In  June, 
1881,  she  writes  :  — 


40  LIFE   OF   ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

"  Calcutta  is  trying  to  the  utmost.  Physically  we 
are  reduced  in  health  and  strength.  The  climate  is 
very  warm.  It  has  begun  to  rain,  and  yet  the  heat 
is  not  less.  We  go  out  for  a  walk,  and  the  Europeans 
talk  and  laugh  when  they  see  us.  The  natives  stand 
still,  and  order  their  carriages  to  stop,  while  they 
stare  at  us.  They  can  never  be  persuaded  that  we 
are  married.  There  is  so  much  of  the  zenana  system 
here  that  a  woman  can  scarcely  stand  in  the  presence 
of  her  relatives,  —  much  less  before  her  husband.  Her 
face  is  always  veiled.  She  is  not  allowed  to  speak  to 
any  man,  —  much  less  to  laugh  with  him.  Even  the 
Baboos,  who  have  spent  years  in  England,  will  not 
drive  here,  with  their  wives,  in  open  carriages.  If  it 
is  so  with  the  educated  people,  how  much  more  preju- 
diced must  be  the  illiterate  !  One  Sepoy  insulted  us 
when  we  were  walking  on  the  Esplanade.  He  asked 
my  husband  who  the  woman  was  that  he  had  with 
him.  My  husband  was  angry,  and  asked  his  name,  to 
report  him  to  the  commissioner.  This  brought  him 
to  his  senses,  and  he  went  away  courteously." 

The  first  entire  letter  which  I  select  from  her 
correspondence  is  dated  — 

CALCUTTA,  Aug.  27th,  1881. 

MY  DEAR  AUNT,  —  In  my  last  I  acknowledged  your 
letter  of  July  3d.  I  beg  to  answer  it  now.  I  have  no 
more  of  your  letters  to  answer,  and  hope  not  to  be  in 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  41 

arrears  in  future.  Your  letter,  that  I  am  about  to 
reply  to,  is  so  consoling  and  heart-soothing  that  it  is 
most  welcome.  We  are  not  yet  free  from  troubles. 
During  the  last  five  mouths  anxieties  have  arisen 
without  and  within.  We  were  about  to  forget  them, 
when  another  serious  mishap  occurred. 

A  special  despatch  from  the  Viceroy  to  the  Governor 
of  Bengal  was  due  here  on  Sunday,  the  14th.  It  was 
watched  by  special  officers  from  Simla.  It  was  re- 
ceived by  my  husband  on  passing  a  receipt.  It  was 
to  be  immediately  sent  to  the  Governor's  camp.  My 
husband  was  therefore  going  to  the  railway  with  one 
of  his  assistants,  into  whose  hand  the  important  letter 
was  given.  As  they  were  running  fast,  to  get  into  a 
hackneyed  carriage  that  could  be  met  on  the  road,  the 
letter  dropped  down.  A  searching  inquiry  was  made 
all  along,  but  in  vain.  The  letter  disappeared  in  the 
twinkling  of  an  eye.  The  consternation  and  stir  it 
must  have  given  rise  to  throughout  the  town  will  be 
better  conceived  than  described.  All  the  high  officials 
held  councils.  The  police  were  sent  in  all  directions. 
The  persons  of  the  men  on  the  road  were  examined. 
Not  a  stone  was  left  unturned.  My  husband  and  his 
assistants  were  in  custody ;  depositions  were  made,  — 
in  short,  it  was  a  day  which  will  never  be  forgotten. 
My  husband  was  suspended,  pending  orders  from 
Government. 

You  may  imagine  what  state  of  mind  I  was  in, 
and  how  engrossed  must  have  been  my  heart  by  grief ! 


42  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

We  gave  up  all  hopes  of  service,  and  were  preparing 
to  start  for  any  place.  "We  first  determined  to  go  to 
Rangoon,  in  Birmah,  and  stay  there  for  a  time.  It  was 
my  intention  to  make  an  address  before  the  English- 
speaking  people  there,  and  thus  obtain  pecuniary  as- 
sistance to  leave  for  another  place.  From  there  we 
were  thinking  of  going  to  Hong-Kong,  and  thence  to 
Japan,  and  from  Japan  to  America.  This  project  may 
appear  very  wild  to  an  outsidei-,  but  it  was  a  necessity. 
We  could  not  retrace  our  steps  to  Bombay,  nor  was  it 
easy  to  travel  in  Bengal  or  the  Punjaub,  where  the 
zenana  is  rampant.  But,  thanks  to  Providence,  my 
husband  has  been  reinstated !  My  husband  never  lost 
anything  before  but  in  Calcutta ;  he  had  never  seen 
police  court  before  but  in  Calcutta;  we  had  never 
had  scandals  in  our  neighborhood  but  in  Calcutta ; 
we  had  never  seen  double-tongued  men  before  but  in 
Calcutta.  I  do  not  know  how  much  misery  is  still  in 
store  for  us.  I  have  been  telling  him  to  sever  his 
connection  with  Government  to  avoid  any  future  ca- 
lamities; but  he  is  wavering.  He  thinks  it  very 
difficult  to  earn  a  livelihood ;  but  I  think  otherwise. 
Whether  he  is  more  experienced,  and  knows  the  world 
better,  and  therefore  cannot  do  anything  hastily,  or 
whether  the  more  a  man  is  advanced  in  position,  and 
the  more  he  gets  beyond  what  is  actually  necessary  to 
sustain  life,  the  more  susceptible  of  imaginary  diffi- 
culties he  becomes,  I  do  not  know ;  but  in  my  opin- 
ion man  must  fear  nothing  but  God.  As  God  is  over 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  43 

us  and  supplies  our  wants,  I  do  not  know  why  we 
should  have  a  thought  for  the  morrow.  Man  wants 
but  little,  and  for  that  little  he  bears  a  world  of  care, 
which  I  do  not  understand.  Let  me  be  here,  or  in 
any  part  of  the  globe,  I  will  get  my  bread.  ( 

But  to  return  to  your  letter.  '  Had  there  been  no 
difficulties  and  no  thorns  in  the  way,  the  man  would 
have  been  in  his  primitive  state  and  no  progress  made 
in  civilisation  and  mental  culture./  Your  letter  is  a 
sermon  which  we  needed.  Each  line  is  full  of  mean- 
ing and  world  wide  knowledge.  I  do  not  know  how 
many  times  I  should  thank  you. 

We  have  our  food  cooked  by  ourselves.  We  do  not 
get  these  things  ready  in  the  Bazaar.  As  we  had  no 
pots  in  which  to  cook,  we  could  not  do  otherwise 
than  go  without,  till  we  had  our  own  furniture 
brought  home.  We  never  employ  low  caste  people 
to  attend  to  household  affairs,  and  as  we  were  but 
two,  in  a  place  where  servants  and  other  things 
available  were  of  no  use  to  us  we  could  but  remain 
fasting.  Imagine,  you  go  to  a  place  where  there  are 
no  shops  and  you  have  plenty  of  money  in  your 
pocket.  There  is  nobody  to  give  you  food,  what  will 
you  do  with  your  money?  I  have  told  you  before, 
that  as  the  people  of  India  are  not  a  travelling  class, 
there  are  no  hotels  for  us  at  each  halting  place. 
When  we  go  on  a  travel  we  generally  take  with  us 
articles  of  food,  prepared  in  milk  and  sugar,  without 
a  drop  of  water. 


44  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

Any  thing  prepared  in  water  is  not  carried  and 
eaten.  If  eaten  it  must  be  prepared  then  and  there 
and  eaten  on  the  spot.  So  money  is  not  always  a 
useful  article  in  India.  I  know  a  gentleman  who 
was  travelling  in  "  Kandesh."  He  was  not  admitted 
to  house  or  temple  so  he  had  to  pass  the  night  under 
a  tree.  Next  morning  he  went  from  door  to  door, 
but  could  get  no  one  to  cook  for  him,  though  he  was 
willing  to  pay  for  it  enormously.  At  night  he  got 
hold  of  an  old  lady,  who  agreed  to  serve  him,  provided 
he  would  tell  nobody. 

I  have  dreams  about  my  departed  friends,  but 
never  feel  their  presence  when  I  am  awakened.  I 
often  dream  of  going  to  America  and  holding  long 
conversations.  What  does  it  portend  ? 

I  enclose  a  letter  for  Eighmee.     I  hope  she  will 
write  to  me  again.     Her  hand  is  after  your  fashion, 
affectionately  yours, 

ANANDABAI  JOSHES. 

Several  things  are  remarkable  in  this  letter. 
Those  who  saw  Anandabai  and  her  husband  to- 
gether in  this  country  cannot  fail  to  recognize  in 
her  description  of  the  trouble  at  the  Post  Office 
the  restless  excitable  nature  of  the  man  and  the 
sweet  serenity  of  the  woman.  Those  projects  of 
hurried  travel  were  all  his,  but  she  does  not  disown 
them.  We  smile  tenderly  over  the  expressive 
epithet  of  "hackneyed"  as  applied  to  a  public 


LIFE  OF  ANAXDABAI  JOSHEE.  45 

carriage,  but  Anandabai  could  not  know  that  it  was 
the  abuse  of  the  public  coach  which  had  caused 
this  word  to  stand  for  all  common-place  and  tire- 
some things.  Its  history  is  a  curious  example 
of  the  growth  of  language.  Originally  applied,  as 
Eichardson  shows,  to  an  active  noisy  horse  or  ney, 
which  vented  its  activity  in  frequent  neighs,  and 
as  such  horses  were  most  frequently  found  at- 
tached to  public  carriages,  the  word  hack-ney  was 
soon  transferred  to  the  carriage  itself,  and  when 
the  dusty  vehicle  began  to  have  a  fixed  character 
in  the  public  mind,  the  substantive  soon  came 
to  do  duty  as  an  adjective  for  all  manner  of 
things. 

In  this  letter  Anandabai  expresses  the  great 
annoyance  she  felt,  at  the  observation  she  attracted 
in  Bengal.  "The  zenana  is  rampant"  she  says. 
Once  when  I  was  trying  to  protect  her  from  un- 
pleasant observation  in  the  City  of  Philadelphia, 
she  thanked  me  by  saying,  "  I  am  more  at  home 
here  than  I  was  in  Calcutta."  She  is  only  six- 
teen, yet  she  wonders  at  the  world  of  care  people 
are  willing  to  carry  to  acquire  goods  that  are  by  no 
means  necessary !  Do  we  not  find  a  touch  of  the 
"  Oriental  Christ "  in  the  words  "  As  God  is  over 
us,  and  supplies  our  wants,  I  do  not  know  why 
we  should  have  a  thought  for  the  morrow  ? "  She 


46  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

could  not  speak  English  at  this  time,  although 
she  wrote  it  so  easily.  The  letter  closes  with  an 
allusion  to  the  impulse  which  had  prompted  Mrs. 
Carpenter  to  write  to  her.  Her  father  Gunputrao 
Joshee,  had  now  been  dead  for  some  time,  and 
she  fancied  from  something  that  Mrs.  Carpenter 
had  written,  that  her  new  friend  had  been  under 
his  influence.  If  he  had  lived  the  family  oppo- 
sition which  made  her  life  and  duty  so  very  hard 
would  have  been  averted. 

She  now  began  to  study  Sanscrit  in  earnest  that 
she  might  be  able  to  show  English  scholars  "  the 
sublimity  of  the  Shasters." 

In  a  letter  written  about  this  time,  she  says, 
"Any  thing  which  cannot  be  enjoyed  by  the  whole 
world  is  bad  for  me ! "  Was  there  ever  a  more 
pronounced  socialism  ?  Her  life  in  Calcutta  had 
brought  her  new  and  varied  trials,  which  she  felt 
more  sharply  than  any  in  the  morasses  of  "  Cutch." 
We  know  from  this  letter  that  she  was  very 
poorly  fed.  Her  landlady  did  nothing  to  help  her 
out  of  her  trouble.  When  she  went  into  the 
street  or  to  the  Bazaar  she  was  followed  and 
pelted.  "This  country  is  not  a  good  one  for  us 
for  we  are  living  in  a  manner  not  warranted  by 
its  customs,"  she  wrote.  Feeling  the  dejection 
consequent  on  starvation  she  says,  "I  think  I 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABA.I  JOSHEE.  47 

shall  not  live  long.  To  live  and  be  useful  is  of 
the  grace  of  God,  but  to  die  is  the  direct  proof  of 
his  grace ;  still  to  die  before  the  call  of  nature  is 
the  desertion  of  duty."  Wonderful  thoughts  these 
to  be  stirring  in  that  young  brain.  To  one  who 
knows  anything  of  the  sanitary  condition  of  the 
smaller  towns  of  India,  it  is  impossible  to  contem- 
plate with  patience  the  several  changes  in  her 
career.  Daintily  fresh  always  was  everything 
about  her  that  she  could  control,  but  at  Barrack- 
pore,  from  which  she  writes  in  December,  she 
again  alludes  to  fever  and  headache.  She  had  not 
been  well  for  more  than  a  year.  From  Nov.  1880, 
to  March,  1881,  she  had  been  constantly  ailing. 
In  Sept.  and  October,  1881,  she  was  so  unwell  as 
to  be  carried  to  a  friend's  house  to  be  nursed.  It 
was  after  hearing  of  this  illness,  that  a  friend  of 
Mrs.  Carpenter's,  a  lady  who  had  no  special  interest 
in  Anandabai,  received  a  prescription  in  her  sleep 
which  was  sent  to  her.  I  give  it  exactly  as  it 
was  transmitted. 

1  ounce  of  black  Cohosh, 
^  an  ounce  of  Juniper  berries, 
1  ounce  of  Virginia  snakeroot, 
£  ounce  of  Buchu  leaves. 

Put  this  in  four  quarts  of  water  and  boil  it  down  to  one 
quart.    Add  one  pint  of  the  best  Holland  gin,  and  take 


48  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

half  a  wine  glass  after  breakfast  and  just  before  going  to  bed. 
Begin  with  a  little  smaller  dose,  and  repeat  the  prescription 
twice. 

This  would  not  be  worth  relating  if  it  were 
not  for  the  consequences.  Anandabai  took  the 
medicine  in  December  of  1881,  and  it  is  not  till 
October,  1883,  that  we  find  again  in  her  letters 
the  pitiful  words,  "I  am  not  very  well,"  words 
which  had  been  written  in  every  letter  previously 
received  and  which  we  came  to  understand  later 
as  having  very  serious  meaning. 

This  is  what  she  herself  says  about  it,  writing 
from 

BAEEACKPORE,  BENGAL,  Dec.  26th,  1881. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND,  Your  favor  of  Oct.  10th.  came 
too  late  for  a  reply  in  last  month.  I  am  much  better 
now,  at  least,  free  from  fever.  I  am  however  thinking 
of  taking  the  medicine,  which  you  so  kindly  sent  as 
prescribed  for  me  by  your  good  Doctor.  I  am  now 
more  independent  and  able  to  have  things  to  my  sat- 
isfaction. To  tell  you  the  truth,  I  always  labor  under 
inward  impressions.  I  solve  many  difficult  things 
while  sleeping.  I  was  not  able  to  cut  different  kinds 
of  native  dresses  for  men  and  women,  but  I  have 
learnt  how  in  dreams.  While  sleeping,  I  dreamed 
that  I  had  cut  such  and  such  shapes  and  sewed 
them.  Next  morning  I  when  awakened  actually  did 
the  same  and  according  to  memory  and  found  every- 


LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  49 

thing  fit  and  complete.  Whenever  I  have  to  learn 
anything  by  heart,  I  do  it  when  asleep.  In  the  day,  I 
read  the  passage  to  be  committed  to  memory  but  once, 
and  in  sleep  I  read  it  over  and  over  and  repeat  it 
next  morning,  without  a  mistake.  Whenever  I  find 
any  difficult  passage  in  poetry  I  pass  it  over  in  the 
day,  but  in  sleep  I  paraphrase  it  correctly  and  the 
next  morning  I  am  all  right  in  translating  it.  I  do 
not  know  who  teaches  me,  but  I  learn  in  this  way. 
I  am  therefore  strongly  inclined  to  believe  that  this 
medicine,  prescribed  in  sleep  will  help  me.1 

As  I  am  not  familiar  with  the  English  or  American 
houses,  I  do  not  know  how  to  satisfy  your  curiosity 
about  the  city  house.  We  were  living  in  a  house, 
like  those  in  which  Europeans  live  in  India. 

I  shall  however  try  to  give  you  a  description  of  a 
native  dwelling  in  Bengal,  in  my  next  letter,  as  I  once 
described  to  you  our  dwelling  in  Bombay. 

The  death  of  your  good  President  has  been  mourned 
all  over  India.  Every  native  paper  had  a  leading  ar- 
ticle as  if  the  loss  was  our  own.  This  is  an  example 

1 "  I  have  myself  not  infrequently  got  out  of  bed  at  night 
to  write  a  thought  or  sentiment  that  had  occurred  to  me  in 
a  semi  dozing  condition.  A  dream  has  some  times  served 
to  solve  an  intricate  mathematical  problem,  one  that  could 
not  be  solved  in  the  waking  state  by  the  most  powerful 
efforts  of  the  mind."  Autobiography  of  Dr.  S.  D.  Gross, 
Vol.  I.  p.  178. 

4 


50  LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

of  how  good  men  live  and  die.  They  live  for  the  pub- 
lic good  and  die  in  service.  Thanks  for  the  pamphlets 
of  Shaker.  They  are  Christian  in  principle. 

As  you  are  not  born  and  brought  up  in  Hindu  re- 
ligion you  will  not,  I  am  afraid,  appreciate  its  true 
merits.  ]  No  religion  is  bad,  but  its  followers  and  self- 
ish interpreters.  Our  priests  are  prejudiced  and  cor- 
rupt as  are  those  of  other  religions.]  I  dislike  them 
as  a  class.  I  would  rather  be  ignorant  and  illiterate 
than  to  have  partial  knowledge  of  every  thing.  As  you 
value  sickness  as  a  means  for  the  enjoyment  of  hap- 
piness, so/  I  regard  irreligious  people  as  pioneers.  If 
there  had  been  no  priesthood  this  world  would  have 
advanced  ten  thousand  times  better  than  it  has  now.  \ 
So  you  need  not  expect  to  learn  anything  from  our 
priests,  who  are  no  doubt  groping  in  darkness.  Spir- 
itual truths  which  lighten  all  burdens,  and  call  for  no 
sacrifices,  are  our  teachers.  Our  forefathers  used  to 
commune  with  the  All  pervading  Force,  and  derived 
knowledge  therefrom.  They  disregarded  external  du- 
ties and  put  too  much  stress  on  the  acquirement  of 
self  knowledge  for  the  emancipation  of  the  soul. 

I  am  sorry  I  forgot  all  about  the  wedding  of  the 
Bengali  Babu  though  I  promised  to  give  you  some  ac- 
count of  it.  The  services  of  the  occasion  were  for- 
malities like  the  Christian.  The  parties  were  united 
by  mutual  promises  made  before  a  magistrate.  The 
marriage  was  registered  before  the  ceremonies  were 


LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  51 

formally  performed  by  a  Bengali  minister.  This  is 
copying  English  fashion.  I  do  not  understand  why 
this  is  given  precedence  to  the  old  customs  which 
were  more  established. 

I  am  glad  to  inform  you,  that  if  I  have  at  all 
received  any  schooling,  it  was  for  a  year  only,  when 
we  were  in  Bombay.  The  lady  superintendent  was 
Miss  Robson,  who  was  very  much  interested  in  my 
education.  She  belongs  to  the  Mission  established 
by  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel. 
I  love  these  Mission  ladies  for  their  enthusiasm  and 
energy,  but  I  dislike  blindness  to  the  feelings  of 
others.  This  lady  compelled  me  to  read  the  Bible 
on  pain  of  expulsion  from  the  school.  I  told  her  I 
would  not,  and  came  home.  I  informed  my  husband, 
and  said  I  did  not  want  to  go  to  that  school  again. 
But  he  expostulated  with  my  rashness.  He  said  that 
we  would  not  lose  anything  by  reading  the  Bible, 
and  brought  me  round,  to  going  to  School,  where 
I  then  abided  by  the  rules.  As  a  whole,  I  have 
nothing  to  say  against  the  Bible,  which  is  a  code  of 
moral  rules,  except  the  assertion,  "  He  that  believeth 
shall  be  saved,"  and  "he  who  believeth  not  shall  be 
damned."  I  have  all  along  found  the  Missionaries 
very  headstrong,  and  contemptuous  of  the  faiths  of 
others.  How  arbitrary  would  it  be  if  I  were  to  say 
that  all  you  believed  was  nonsense,  and  all  I  believed 
was  just  and  proper  !  My  dear  friend,  I  have  nothing 


52  LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

to  despise.  The  whole  universe  is  a  lesson  to  me.  I 
am  required  by  duty  to  respect  every  creed  and  sect, 
and  value  its  religion.  I  therefore  read  the  Bible 
with  as  much  interest  as  I  read  my  own  religious 
books.  I  sincerely  thank  you  for  your  undivided 
sympathies  with  me  and  my  husband  in  the  sudden 
fall  into  the  depth  of  anxiety  and  distress  brought 
about  by  that  sad  event. 

If  I  had  been  called  to  share  the  storms  with  my 
husband,  I  would  have  done  nothing  but  my  duty 
which  I  owe  him  as  his  deserving  wife.  There  would 
have  been  nothing  commendable  or  heroic  in  it.  Let 
there  be  any  amount  of  difficulties  or  distresses,  and 
I  think  I  shall  be  more  than  equal  to  face  them.  My 
hearty  love  to  Eighmee  and  Helena. 

Affectionately  yours, 

ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 


In  spite  of  a  certain  crudeness  of  expression 
there  is  a  wonderful  maturity  of  thought  in  this 
letter.  I  think  no  one  can  read  without  emotion 
the  paragraph  beginning,  "I  have  nothing  to 
despise,  the  whole  universe  is  a  lesson  to  me." 

The  next  letter  is  written  from  Serampore. 
Barrackpore  and  Serampore  are  two  small  towns 
about  ten  miles  north  of  Calcutta  on  the  two 
opposite  banks  of  the  Hooghly.  Each  is  reported 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  53 

to  contain  from  twelve  to  fifteen  thousand  inhabi- 
tants but  they  are  very  different  in  character. 

Barrackpore  has  been  the  country  seat  of  the 
Governor  Generals  for  more  than  forty  years.  It 
has  fine  residences,  a  beautiful  park  and  a  large 
military  cantonment.  Serampore  is  now  a  Hindu 
village.  It  is  neatly  built,  in  European  fashion, 
stretching  along  the  banks  of  the  river  for  a  mile. 
It  was  long  the  headquarters  of  the  Protestant 
Missions  and  was  ceded  by  Denmark  to  Great 
Britain  in  1845.  That  Mr.  Joshee  should  have 
been  successively  removed  from  an  important 
position  in  Calcutta  to  the  offices  in  these  small 
towns  would  seem  to  indicate  some  dissatisfaction 
on  the  part  of  the  government,  occasioned  perhaps 
by  the  lost  letter,  but  there  were  no  more  changes. 
At  Serampore,  Anandabai  remained  until  she 
started  for  America.  From  her  copious  letters  to 
Mrs.  Carpenter  I  select  the  following. 

SERAMPORE,  April  18th,  1882. 

As  intimated  in  my  last,  we  left  Barrackpore  on 
the  first,  and  arrived  here  the  same  evening.  The 
river  is  only  a  mile  wide,  and  we  crossed  in  boats. 
Serampore  is  an  old  town  of  historical  note.  The 
first  Missionary  College  in  India  was  established  here. 
It  is  still  flourishing.  There  are  many  rich  land- 
holders, whose  houses  are  princely.  But  the  inhabi- 


54  LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

tants  are  as  barbarous  and  superstitious  as  they  were 
hundreds  of  years  ago.  If  the  men  are  friendly  they 
will  not  allow  their  women  to  associate  with  their 
own  sex,  if  they  are  foreigners  like  me.  I  can  form 
no  acquaintance  with  them,  unless  I  were  to  become 
a  Missionary  and  force  my  way  into  the  Zenana. 
You  must  not  suppose  they  would  not  like  to  see  the 
world,  and  yet  some  of  the  Bengali  women  who  have 
been  educated  follow  very  barbarous  customs.  It  is 
customary  among  us  to  eat  "  Vida "  compounded  of 
thirteen  ingredients,  namely  betel  leaves,  betel  nut, 
chunam,  almond,  camphor,  saffron,  cloves,  cardamon, 
and  so  on.  This  "  Vida "  stains  the  teeth,  tongue 
and  mouth  a  red  color.  Some  of  these  Bengalis  stain 
the  outside  of  their  lips  and  so  expose  themselves 
to  contempt. 

I  rely  on  God,  and  do  not  seek  to  know  who  are 
his  individual  messengers  to  me.  Take  any  religion 
you  like  and  you  will  find  that  its  founder  was  a 
holy  man.  Go  to  his  followers  and  you  will  find 
holy  men  the  exception.  I  am  glad  to  inform  you 
that  Miss  Eobson's  school  has  been  closed  owing  to 
her  obstinacy.  Soon  after  I  left,  she  required  all  her 
scholars  to  read  the  Bible,  and  the  result  was  that 
her  pupils,  ninety  in  number,  left  her,  and  she  went 
home  never  to  return. 

In  January,  1882,  Anandabai  sent  out  her  gift 
of  the  Tila  seed  comfits,  the  making  of  which 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI   JOSHEE,  55 

she  describes  in  the  following  letter.  She  asked 
that  they  might  be  distributed  among  her  friends 
according  to  the  Hindu  custom  at  the  New  Year, 
with  the  words 

"  Accept  these  Tila  seeds,  and  be  friendly  with  me 
throughout  the  year." 

The  Tila  seeds  are  of  three  kinds,  the  white, 
red  and  black.  I  think  it  was  the  black  which 
Anandabai  used  for  her  comfits.  An  oil  is  ex- 
tracted from  all  of  them,  and  is  now  exported  to 
France,  where  it  serves  to  adulterate  olive  oil 

SERAMPORE,  BENGAL,  May  16th,  1882. 
MY  DEAR  FRIEND,  —  Your  favors  of  March  and 
April  are  with  me  for  reply.  At  the  head  of  each 
letter  are  beautiful  pictures  which  are  really  worth 
looking  at.  I  am  glad  to  hear  that  the  Tila  seeds  have 
at  last  reached  you.  I  have  requested  you  to  eat  them 
up,  as  they  are  intended  for  that.  The  way  they 
are  prepared  is  not  difficult  to  learn,  but  I  do  not 
know  enough  to  describe  it.  Take  one  pound  of  sugar 
and  as  much  water  and  boil  it  till  it  becomes  a  little 
thick,  so  that  if  dropped  on  the  ground  it  will  look 
like  a  pearl  and  will  run  if  you  blow  it,  yet  will  not 
be  hardened  or  dried  into  a  pill.  This  sugar  juice 
should  be  kept  in  a  pot.  Then  the  seeds  should  be 
wet,  their  skins  removed,  and  again  dried  :  put  a 


56  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

brass  pan  over  a  light  fire,  and  shake  the  seeds  in  it 
till  they  are  swollen.  Then  move  them  to  and  fro 
with  your  fingers,  and  put  five  drops  of  the  sugar  on 
them  at  a  time,  shaking  them  till  all  are  coated.  Then 
you  will  have  Tilas  like  mine.  I  am  very  much  inter- 
ested in  the  work  you  do  from,  morning  till  evening. 
You  will  find  the  women  of  this  country,  both  rich 
and  poor,  employing  their  time  as  usefully  as  you  do. 
I  am  glad  our  household  business  perfectly  resembles 
yours,  but  alas !  how  few  there  are  among  the  Euro- 
pean residents  of  India  who  follow  in  the  footsteps 
of  their  forefathers. 

My  time  is  not  so  usefully  employed  as  yours,  but 
I  will  give  you  an  account  of  the  life  which  the  gen- 
erality of  our  women  lead.  We  get  up  at  five  o'clock. 
We  first  answer  the  calls  of  nature,  which  is  the  pri- 
mary duty,  without  which  no  person  is  clean  to  do 
any  business,  much  less  to  worship  God  and  prepare 
food.  We  sweep  the  ground,  and  wash  all  the  copper 
and  brass  pots  used  for  drinking  purposes  and  wor- 
ship. Then  we  oil  and  comb  and  dress  our  hair  with 
several  kinds  of  ornaments.  Then,  if  there  be  chil- 
dren in  the  house,  rice  is  prepared  for  them  at  about 
half  past  seven.  Children  eat  it  with  salt  and  ghee. 
Ghee  is  boiled  butter.  Milk  is  sometimes  used  with 
rice.  Children  use  pickles  and  "  Papad  "  made  of  kid- 
ney beans,  pounded  with  seasoning,  such  as  cummin, 
pepper,  chili,  salt,  and  sometimes  fennel.  We  begin 


LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  57 

to  give  rice  to  children  when  they  are  one  year  old. 
Hand-made  breads  of  wheat  flour  are  sometimes  made 
for  children's  breakfast.  After  this  is  done  we  are 
engaged  in  putting  all  articles  to  rights  before  we  sit 
down  to  cook  them.  As  soon  as  vegetables  are  brought 
from  the  market,  we  wash  them  and  then  cut  them 
into  small  pieces.  So  are  rice,  pulse  and  wheat  flour 
cleaned  and  kept  ready  for  cooking.  We  usually  pre- 
pare five  or  six  vegetables,  and  an  equal  number  of 
other  sour,  hot,  and  sweet  articles  called  "Koshim- 
biris."  Plantains,  guavas,  and  other  fruits  are  cut 
and  filled  with  spices. 

Our  stove  is  earthen,  by  the  side  of  which  we  sit  to 
cook  after  bathing  and  changing  our  night  clothes  and 
putting  on  sacred  garments,  which  have  been  washed, 
and  dried  in  a  room  where  no  one  could  go  to  touch 
them. 

First  we  put  an  iron  pan  or  a  brass  pot  on  the 
stove  and  put  a  little  oil  in  that.  When  it  is  hot,  rye 
seeds  and  cummin  are  thrown  into  it.  When  they 
are  properly  fried  and  broken,  we  put  the  vegetables 
in  and  cook  them  without  water.  We  take  our  meals 
twice  a  day.  The  first  meal  about  noon,  the  second 
from  seven  to  eight  in  the  evening.  As  a  rule  men 
take  their  meals  before  the  women  who  serve  them. 
A  married  woman  does  not  eat  until  she  has  served 
her  husband.  After  dinner,  the  men  go  to  bed,  and 
women  are  engaged  in  removing  and  washing  the 


58  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

dishes,  and  cow-dunging  the  earthen  floors,  after 
which  we  change  our  clothes,  and  sit  down,  preparing 
for  next  day's  cooking,  cleaning  rice  and  so  on.  We 
cut  and  sew  our  clothes  till  half-past  five.  We  then 
go  to  the  temple  and  return  home  after  six  o'clock, 
when  we  are  again  employed  in  preparing  articles  for 
supper.  This  occupies  us  until  nine,  when  we  pre- 
pare our  beds  and  sleep.  This  is  what  women  in 
India  generally  do.  They  have  no  letters  to  write, 
or  books  to  read.  They  do  not  receive  or  make  calls, 
except  among  their  own  female  relatives.  They  do 
not  speak  with  men,  even  with  their  own  husbands, 
in  presence  of  somebody. 

I  hope  Helena  has  begun  to  attend  school.  It  is 
getting  very  warm  here,  and  much  sickness  prevails. 
My  husband  has  been  unwell.  He  has  applied  for 
one  year's  furlough.  If  he  gets  it,  we  shall  start  for 
America.  It  was  our  intention  to  secure  a  passage 
for  Japan,  and  thence  to  America,  but  it  is  a  circuitous 
route  and  expensive,  so  we  intend  going  through  Eng- 
land. Can  you  tell  me  how  many  days  it  will  take, 
and  what  is  the  fare1?  I  suppose  Eoselle  is  not  far 
from  New  York. 

I  have  much  pleasure  to  inform  you  that  I  had 
some  Bengali  ladies  invited  to  my  house  one  evening 
and  I  was  very  much  astonished  to  see  them  bow 
down  before  me,  as  if  I  were  God !  They  were  pecu- 
liarly interested  in  my  dress  and  ornaments.  They 


LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  59 

said  the  Maharastras  had  a  respectable  dress  of  their 
own,  while  Bengalis  are  half  naked.  I  began  this  let- 
ter on  the  16th,  but  was  abruptly  invited  to  Calcutta 
by  my  kind  lady  for  a  party  which  she  gave  in  honor 
of  her  son's  thread  ceremony. 

Your  affectionate  niece, 

ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 


This  quaint  account  of  the  manufacture  of  the 
comfits  sent  by  Anandabai,  as  a  new  Year's  greet- 
ing, lets  us  into  some  of  the  secrets  of  Hindu 
cooking.  From  the  time  that  she  first  began  to 
write  to  Mrs.  Carpenter,  to  that  of  her  own  arri- 
val in  this  country,  the  little  Hindu  girl  sent  by 
mail  or  ship  all  sorts  of  curious  things  to  illus- 
trate the  dress,  food  and  customs  of  her  country. 
Hers  was  no  bric-a-brac  collection.  Scarce  an 
article  in  it  had  any  claim  to  prettiness,  but  the 
thoroughness  with  which  she  managed  to  exhibit 
Oriental  life  would  have  done  credit  to  a  Cen- 
tennial Commissioner.  Samples  of  all  sorts,  mil- 
let, buckwheat,  pease  and  beans,  were  brought  in 
small  phials.  All  herbs,  roots,  seeds,  and  gums 
used  in  medicine  were  put  up  in  the  same  fashion. 
Then  followed  the  cooking  utensils  made  of  brass 
or  pottery,  the  furnaces  or  chafing-dishes  of  coarse 
earthenware,  the  family  idols  and  their  shrines, 


60  LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

and  last  of  all,  the  letters  which  carefully  de- 
scribed each. 

This  "Tila"  is  the  Sesamum  orientate,  always 
connected  in  the  Oriental  mind  with  the  occult 
forces,  and  carrying  a  hidden  meaning  as  it  is  sent 
from  one  friend  to  another.  The  "  Open  Sesame  " 
of  the  Arabian  Nights  is  an  invocation  to  the 
secret  creative  forces  hidden  in  this  tiny  germ 
and  permitted  to  work  elsewhere. 

"  Ghee,"  she  tells  us,  is  "  boiled  butter,"  but  why 
should  butter  be  boiled?  Because,  otherwise,  it 
could  not  be  used  at  all,  in  many  parts  of  India. 
Butter  must  there  be  made  from  milk,  often  by 
simply  shaking  it  in  a  bottle,  for  it  is  impossible 
to  let  the  milk  stand  until  the  cream  rises.  After 
the  butter  is  made,  it  is  scalded,  clarified  and  so 
carried  to  market,  otherwise  it  would  be  rancid  in 
twenty-four  hours.  This  is  "  Ghee,"  and  in  it  all 
Hindu  vegetables  are  cooked. 

Many  vegetables  are  used  in  India,  which  seem 
to  us  as  innutritions  as  the  "fried  grass"  of  which 
Daniel  Webster  once  partook  at  a  rural  neighbor's. 
Buckwheat  is  roasted,  and  eaten  in  the  grain  and 
tender  buckwheat  leaves  are  stewed  in  "ghee"  like 
beans  or  pulse. 

The  practice  of  "cow-dunging"  the  floors  of 
apartments  does  not  seem  very  pleasant,  it  is 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.        61 

therefore  necessary  to  explain  it.  When  Mr.  Ball 
first  went  to  Calcutta,  he  found  the  Hindus  every- 
where sweeping  their  houses  and  compounds  with 
brooms  made  of  twigs.  Of  course,  it  could  not  be 
thoroughly  done,  and  one  of  the  first  articles  man- 
ufactured in  the  Useful  Arts  School  was  the 
European  broom,  the  handles,  the  broom  corn, 
and  the  finished  articles  being  several  times  sent 
out  from  Boston.  After  the  earthen  floor  of  a 
native  house  is  swept,  it  is  sprinkled  with  water 
in  which  cow-dung  has  been  dissolved. 

This  water  stands  until  it  is  clear,  and  is  really 
a  solution  of  ammonia.  The  effect  of  it  upon  the 
earthen  floors  is  to  purify  and  harden  them.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  the  Hindus  consider 
everything  relating  to  the  cow  as  sacred,  and  prim- 
itive experience  probably  pointed  out  the  use- 
fulness of  this  application. 

The  allusion  to  the  "  bowing  down  "  of  the  Ben- 
gali ladies  may  puzzle  those  who  are  unacquainted 
with  Hindu  life. 

The  Mahrattas,  among  whom  Anaudabai  had 
been  bred,  greet  each  other  with  dignity  much 
like  Europeans.  The  Bengalis  prostrate  them- 
selves, and  this  astonished  Anandabai  as  much 
as  it  would  one  of  us. 

The  next  letter  from  Serampore  contains  a  touch- 


62  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

ing  Hindu  story,  and  an  interesting  account  of 
the  "imposition  of  the  thread,"  which  may  be 
considered  as  the  consecration  of  the  adult  Brah- 
min according  to  the  Shasters. 

Those  who  read  between  the  lines  can  easily 
see  what  the  story  of  Savitri  had  become  to 
AnandabaL 

SERAMPORE,  BENGAL,  June  17th,  1881. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND,  I  now  pick  up  my  pen  to 
write  as  I  promised.  To-day  is  the  day  of  mailing, 
and  I  suspect  I  shall  not  be  able  to  post  in  time. 
I  am  sorry  to  inform  you,  that  our  starting  for  Amer- 
ica has  been  postponed  for  about  six  months,  as  a 
furlough  cannot  be  had  before. 

I  will  send  the  price  of  the  three  books  you  so 
kindly  sent  me  two  years  ago,  through  the  money 
order  system  which  will  begin  on  the  first  of  July. 

I  now  turn  to  your  question,  "  What  is  the  thread 
ceremony  ? "  I  will  try  to  quench  your  thirst  of  curi- 
osity. There  are  sixteen  such  ceremonies  among  us, 
from  birth  to  death.  "  Thread  ceremony  "  is  the  eighth 
in  order.  It  is  initiating  a  Brahmin  boy  of  eight  years 
in  spiritual  knowledge.  After  this,  the  boy  must  live 
at  his  preceptor's  bouse,  and  study  Vedas  and  many 
other  things  till  he  is  twenty  years  of  age.  And  if 
during  twelve  years  he  is  very  well  educated,  he  is 
then  allowed  to  come  to  his  father's  house,  but  if  not, 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  63 

he  is  not  allowed  till  he  finishes  his  study.  He  must 
pass  this  time,  which  is  devoted  to  knowledge,  in  celi- 
bacy and  then  his  marriage  takes  place.  He  should 
pass  twenty  or  twenty-five  years  in  the  company  of  his 
family,  until  he  is  forty  or  forty-five  years  of  age.  The 
remainder  of  his  life  should  pass  in  solitude  until 
death  put  a  stop  to  it.  In  this  ceremony  Brahmins 
are  fed,  money  is  given  to  the  poor,  and  a  triple 
thread,  prepared  at  home,  is  taken  in  hand  and  made 
holy  by  repeating  Vedic  verses.  This  is  afterward 
worn  by  the  boy  round  his  neck  and  under  his  right 
hand  as  a  garland.  I  will  send  you  an  Almanac  from 
which  you  may  see  how  it  is  worn.  Then  the  boy 
becomes  a  holy  Brahmin.  Before  this  ceremony  he  is 
allowed  to  dine  with  his  parents,  that  is  to  say,  they 
can  eat  from  one  dish,  but  when  he  has  passed  it 
and  becomes  what  is  called  a  "  Munjah,"  he  must  eat 
alone  by  himself.  This  ceremony  is  performed  by 
three  castes,  the  Brahmin,  the  Kshatriya.  and  the 
Vaishya.  Among  Brahmins  in  the  eighth  year,  among 
Kshatriyas  in  the  eleventh,  and  among  Vaishyas 
in  the  twelfth.  After  the  ceremony,  the  boy  must 
perform  certain  religious  austerities  twice  a  day. 
This  ceremony  corresponds  to  baptism  among  Chris- 
tians. It  was  good  in  principle,  but  now-a-days  it  is  a 
mere  ceremonial.  Parents  now  spend  thousands  of  ru- 
pees to  gratify  their  vanity  and  do  no  good  to  the 
boy,  who  is  fed  at  home,  instead  of  being  allowed  to 


64  LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

stay  with  his  preceptor  and  live  by  begging,  -which 
is  the  principal  injunction  of  our  Shastras.  A  Mun- 
jah  has  no  right  to  eat  at  his  father's.  I  am  afraid  I 
have  not  done  justice  to  the  subject,  but  will  try  to 
write  more  fully  before  long. 

We  had  a  holiday  on  the  first,  which  is  called  "  Wala- 
savitri."  Wala  means  a  banyan  tree,  and  Savitri  was 
the  obedient  wife  of  a  man  named  Satyavan.  Sa- 
vitri was  the  only  child  of  her  father,  who  was  called 
"  Ashvapati."  She  was  exceedingly  beautiful  and  wise. 
She  was  growing  more  and  more  wise  as  the  moon 
grows  in  the  first  fortnight.  When  she  was  about 
eighteen  years  of  age,  her  father  sought  for  a  bride- 
groom, but  did  not  find  any  one  fit  to  be  her  husband. 
Ashvapati  was  a  king,  so  he  searched  for  a  princely 
bridegroom.  He  afterwards  told  his  daughter  to  travel 
and  choose  for  herself.  She  went  with  many  attend- 
ants and  saw  many  kingdoms  on  the  earth,  but  did 
not  find  any  good-natured  prince.  There  was  a  de- 
throned king  called  "  Dinmatsen  "  who  had  an  obedient 
son  named  Satyavan.  Dinmatsen  and  his  wife  were 
both  blind.  This  family  of  three  dwelt  in  a  cottage 
in  a  forest.  Savitri  chose  Satyavan  for  her  husband, 
and  immediately  returned  home  to  inform  her  father, 
who  consented  to  it. 

In  the  mean  time  Narada  descended  from  Heaven, 
and  went  to  the  King's  Palace.  Ashvapati  was  very 
glad  to  welcome  him.  While  they  were  engaged  in 


LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  65 

philosophic  conversation  Savitri  came  in  and  Narada 
asked  where  she  had  been.  Ashvapati  informed  him 
and  Narada  then  begged  her  not  to  marry  Satyavan. 
She  replied  that  her  determination  would  never  alter. 
Narada  and  her  father  tried  their  best  to  influence  her 
by  telling  her  that  he  was  dethroned  and  in  reduced 
circumstances.  She  refused  to  heed  them.  At  last 
Narada  explained  that  Satyavan  would  die  in  a  year, 
and  if  that  would  happen,  what  would  she  do  ? 
Notwithstanding  this  Savitri  stood  firm.  She  said  no- 
body should  be  defeated  at  heart,  but  bear  with 
whatever  comes,  whether  pleasant  or  painful.  "  If 
God  has  written  widowhood  on  my  forehead,"  she 
said,  "no  one  is  able  to  wipe  it  away.  God's  will 
shall  be  done,  who  will  gainsay  it1?  All  persons  on 
the  Earth  except  Satyavan  are  to  me  like  my  father's 
brothers  and  sons.  Then  how  could  I  marry  them  ? " 

Narada  was  pleased  with  what  she  said,  and  as- 
cended to  Heaven.  Ashvapati  made  preparations,  and 
started  for  the  forest  with  his  daughter  and  all  her 
relations.  He  went  to  the  cottage  and  explained 
Savitri's  intentions. 

Dinmatsen  explained  that  he  was  poor,  blind  and 
dethroned,  but  finally  consented. 

So  Savitri  became  the  wife  of  Satyavan.     The  King 

gave  them  wealth  — but  they  declined  it,  saying  that 

as  they  might  not  enjoy  their  own  riches,  they  would 

take  nothing  from  others.     The  Princess  took  off  her 

5 


66  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSIIEE. 

jewels  and  fine  clothes  and  gave  them  to  her  fathei*, 
and  the  King  returned  to  his  people.  Savitri  knew 
the  day  of  her  husband's  death,  which  Narada  had 
predicted.  She  was  an  obedient  wife  and  when  at 
last  only  three  days  were  left  to  him,  she  could 
neither  sleep  nor  eat.  Sorrow  preyed  upon  her.  Her 
husband  and  his  relations  begged  her  not  to  fast  for 
she  was  very  delicate.  When  the  last  day  came,  Saty- 
avan  was  going  as  usual  to  the  forest  for  fuel.  Savitri 
begged  him  to  take  her  with  him.  "  You  are  tender 
and  will  not  be  able  to  walk.  You  must  be  very  hun- 
gry. Eat  something  and  then  come  if  you  must."  But 
she  urged  him,  till  he  sent  her  to  ask  the  consent  of  his 
father  and  mother.  At  first  they  too  refused  her. 

They  started  for  the  forest.  Her  husband  said  that 
she  had  better  be  at  home,  for  the  way  was  long 
and  difficult.  "  Should  I  not  be  with  my  dear  hus- 
band so  much  as  once  1 "  she  said.  As  he  was  cutting 
trees  with  his  axe,  he  was  tired,  and  a  venomous  snake 
bit  him.  He  then  slept  under  a  great  banyan  tree, 
taking  his  wife's  lap  under  his  head  instead  of  a 
pillow.  "  Yama,"  the  God  of  Death,  came  to  her,  and 
asked  her  to  lay  her  husband  aside,  that  he  might 
take  away  his  soul.  "  Who  are  you,  and  why  do 
you  come  hither?"  said  she.  He  answered  her, 
and  she  begged  him  not  to  separate  them,  but  he 
would  not  heed.  At  last  he  seized  the  soul  and  went 
away,  and  she  followed  him  weeping.  He  looked  back 


LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  67 

and  told  her  to  go  away  and  burn  the  corpse  of  her 
husband.  "  What  should  I  do  without  my  husband," 
she  cried ;  "  wherever  my  husband's  soul  is  carried  I 
will  follow."  "  You  will  be  tired,"  he  said  ;  "  go  back 
and  burn  the  body."  "  I  am  your  adopted  daugh- 
ter, take  me  to  my  mother,"  she  retorted.  He  desired 
her  to  ask  anything  of  him  except  her  husband's  soul. 
She  asked  that  her  husband's  parents  might  have  their 
sight.  Yama  gave  it  and  walked  on.  He  again  looked 
back  and  told  her  to  return.  She  said,  "  How  is  it  that 
you  like  to  see  your  daughter  a  widow  ? "  "  Ask  for 
anything,"  he  answered,  "  except  this  soul."  She  de- 
sired that  Dinmatsen  should  be  restored  to  his  lost 
kingdom.  Yama  gave  that  too,  but  she  did  not  cease 
from  following.  "  Go  and  burn  your  dead,"  he  cried. 

"  Oh,  this  is  a  spot  on  your  world-wide  fame ! 
Death  is  said  to  be  friendly,"  she  cried. 

"  Ask  me  yet  a  third  thing,"  he  entreated. 

"  I  have  no  brother,"  she  replied.  "  Oh,  bless  my 
father  with  a  sou."  This  also  Yama  granted,  and  told 
her  not  to  follow,  but  she  went  on.  "  Ask  me  a 
fourth  gift,"  he  said,  "and  go  back  to  the  body." 
"  Venerable  father,"  she  said,  "  I  must  not  be  called 
barren,  give  me  some  sons."  "  They  are  yours,"  he 
said,  and  went  forth,  but  she  followed.  He  looked  back 
and  grew  very  angry.  "  Why  do  you  not  return  ?"  he 
said.  "  How  am  I  to  return  without  the  soul  of  my 
husband,"  she  said  patiently,  "  you  have  promised  me 


68  LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

that  I  shall  not  be  called  barren."  Then  he  remem- 
bered that  she  was  not  pregnant  and  repented  of  his 
fury.  "Go  back,"  he  said,  "the  soul  is  released." 
She  hurried  back  to  the  banyan,  in  whose  shad- 
ows she  had  laid  the  body  before  she  followed  Yama. 
Again  she  laid  her  husband's  head  upon  her  lap.  In 
a  moment  or  two  he  roused  and  saw  the  sun  shining. 
She  asked  her  husband  why  he  slept  so  long,  for  he 
knew  that  his  parents  would  be  waiting.  He  replied 
that  he  had  been  dreaming.  Then  they  hurried  home, 
and  found  to  his  great  surprise,  that  his  parents  had 
received  their  sight  and  that  both  father  and  mother 
were  weeping.  How  glad  they  were  to  see  their 
daughter-in-law  for  the  first  time  with  their  own  eyes ! 
The  King  who  had  dethroned  them  gave  everything 
back,  so  their  last  days  were  full  of  happiness. 

Savitri's  father  had  sons  and  reigned  happily.  We 
therefore  observe  this  day,  and  worship  the  banyan  as 
the  emblem  of  eternal  marriage. 

I  shall  not  be  restored  to  a  peaceful  mind  until  I 
hear  that  you  are  recovered  from  your  illness.  These 
two  years,  since  our  correspondence  commenced,  I 
have  never  had  the  misfortune  of  your  letter  being 
put  off  on  account  of  illness,  although  I  have  failed 
more  than  once.  I  sincerely  hope  and  pray  to  God 
that  my  Aunt  may  soon  be  able  to  comfort  her 
niece  in  her  distress. 

Your  affectionate  niece, 

ANANDABAI. 


LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI   JOSHEE.  69 

The  story  of  Savitri  which  Anandabai  here  tells 
in  her  own  way  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of 
the  old  Hindu  epics.  Narada  or  Narad',  as  the 
name  is  pronounced,  was  a  deity  who  sprang  from 
the  hip  of  Brahma,  and  who  with  functions  some- 
times resembling  those  of  Orpheus,  at  other  times 
those  of  Hermes,  seems  to  have  interfered  con- 
stantly in  human  affairs. 

The  last  letter  written  from  India  that  I  shall 
offer  to  my  readers  is  full  of  character.  It  shows 
a  girl  of  seventeen  absolutely  fearless,  because  her 
trust  is  in  God.  It  gives  us  some  idea  of  the 
trials  that  had  already  beset  her.  It  hints  at  the 
disapprobation  of  her  mother,  which  was  the  bit- 
terest drop  in  her  cup,  but  shows  no  suspicion  of 
the  thousand  drawbacks  which  were  to  delay  her 
start.  In  August,  1882,  Mrs.  Carpenter  wrote  her 
a  long  and  careful  letter,  detailing  the  manner  and 
expense  of  coming  to  America.  For  the  first  time 
the  way  seemed  easy  and  practicable  to  Anandabai, 
and  she  pours  forth  her  delight  as  follows. 

SERAMPORE,  August  12th,  1882. 

MY  DEAR  AUNT,  —  I  proceed  to  write  an  answer  to 
your  letter  dated  July  1st,  as  promised  in  my  last,  in 
which  I  have  acknowledged  it.  I  imparted  my  joy  to 


70  LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

you  in  a  few  words.  As  I  was  reading  it,  I  was  in 
ecstasy,  when  it  fell  from  my  hand.  For  a  while  I 
knew  not  what  to  do.  I  wished  I  had  feathers,  to 
flit  at  once.  On  that  day  I  did  not  eat  my  food  as 
usual,  for  my  head  and  heart  were  full  with  joy  and  I 
thanked  the  Almighty  for  the  approaching  pleasure. 

You  know  at  first  our  intention  was  that  we  should 
hoth  start  for  America.  I  remember  that  you  too,  a 
year  ago,  expressed  your  wish  that  we  both  should  go, 
but  now  it  is  altered.  After  serious  deliberation  we 
perceive  that  it  will  be  very  expensive.  You  can  im- 
agine how  difficult  it  is  for  a  small  purse  to  pay  for 
two  passengers  from  India  to  America.  Beside,  my 
husband  has  an  old  mother,  and  younger  brothers  to 
care  for.  I  have  neither  a  jealous  nature  to  be  hurt 
by  this  separation  nor  any  one  to  care  for  except  my 
husband.  I  have  had  here  two  dear  things  above  all 
one  of  which  I  have  lost  (through  her  disapproba- 
tion), and  that  is  my  mother.  The  other  is  my  hus- 
band. I  have  two  sisters  and  one  brother.  Oh  poor 
mortals  !  They  are  under  a  kinsman's  care  quite 
ignorant  of  this  world.  So  I  am  untyed.  I  am  not 
sorry  for  this,  but  think  myself  happy.  I  am  there- 
fore prepared  to  go  alone  to  America,  in  company  of 
any  respectable  family.  My  husband  will  be  here. 
Considering  the  future  prospects  of  my  life  as  a  physi- 
cian I  must  make  up  my  mind  to  be  separated  from 
my  husband. 


LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  71 

You  have  reason  to  think  that  very  distant  voyage 
will  be  hazardous  for  a  girl  of  eighteen  because  the 
world  is  full  of  frauds  and  dangers,  but  dear  Aunt, 
wherever  I  cast  my  glance,  I  see  nothing  but  a 
straight  and  smooth  way.  I  fear  no  miseries.  I 
shrink  not  at  the  recollection  of  dangers,  nor  do  I 
fear  them.  Wherever  I  will  be,  there  will  be  Heaven 
for  me.  I  am  sure  God  has  created  many  high  souls, 
like  you,  who  will  not  neglect  me. 

Besides,  we  are  never  sure  that  we  shall  live  un- 
separated  for  ever.  We  know  not  when  we  shall  be 
condemned  to  separation.  Is  it  not  always  possible 
that  one  of  us  will  be  lost  1  I  give  an  instance  for 
your  satisfaction.  One  family  consisting  of  four  mem- 
bers came  to  Benares  on  a  pilgrimage  two  months 
ago.  Unfortunately  three  of  them  died  of  cholera  and 
a  helpless  girl  of  eighteen  was  left  behind.  What 
could  she  do  then  1  She  has  lost  her  husband,  brother- 
in-law,  mother-in-law.  If  this  life  is  so  transitory 
like  a  rose  in  bloom,  why  should  one  depend  upon 
another  1 

Every  one  must  not  ride  on  another's  shoulders  but 
walk  on  his  own  feet.  Perhaps  my  husband  will  fol- 
low me,  some  time  after,  but  I  must  not  wait  for  him, 
as  time  is  so  precious. 

Thousands  are  too  violently  attached  to  the  con- 
trary opinions.  Hundreds  show  their  own  scruples, 
by  urging  that  I  am  liable  to  go  astray,  and  lead  an 


72  LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

unchaste  life  when  unprotected  by  any  nearest  relative. 
My  design  meets  the  approbation  of  a  few,  say  one  or 
two  to  a  thousand,  and  they  are  probably,  youths, 
reformers  and  patriots.  You  will  easily  believe  that 
I,  fearing  the  disapprobation  of  the  many,  will  desist 
from  my  determinate  proposal,  but  it  is  not  so.  Though 
I  cannot  teach  courage,  I  must  not  learn  cowardice, 
nor  at  last  leave  undone  what  I  so  long  since  de- 
termined to  do.  I  am  not  discouraged.  I  only  won- 
der at  their  scruples  and  their  timidity.  I  am  not 
sorry  for  their  unfavorable  opinions.  Their  opposition 
strengthens  me  the  more.  I  promise  myself  that 
if  my  efforts  will  be  successful,  I  will  return  to  my 
native  country ;  otherwise  I  will  not  see  India  again. 
I  must  not  fear  but  try  my  best  and  show  all,  what 
we  Indian  ladies  are  like.  Our  antient  Indian  ladies 
were  very  wise,  brave,  courageous  and  benevolent, 
and  endurance  was  their  badge.  Let  it  be  my  badge 
also.  I  am  sure  nothing  will  harm  me,  or  if  it  does, 
it  will  be  for  my  good.  I  know  that  whenever  any 
misfortune  has  befallen  me,  it  has  been  profitable  for 
me.  As  we  are  all  children  of  one  father,  none  will 
attempt  to  deceive  or  betray  me,  wheresoever  I  may 
be.  No  one  has  power  to  disturb  and  harm,  except 
He  gives  it.  We  have  neither  the  power  of  devolving 
misfortunes  upon  ourselves,  nor  the  power  of  avoiding 
them.  These  must  come  according  to  His  will.  I 
must  launch  my  fortune  like  a  ship  on  the  ocean  of 


LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  73 

life.  To  what  shore  shall  it  go,  to  a  fertile  bank 
or  a  barren  beach?  or  will  it  go  to  pieces?  Let 
me  try  to  do  my  duty,  whether  I  be  victor  or  victim. 
So  I  have  determined,  and  will  start  some  time  in 
December  or  January  next.  Please  be  so  kind  as  to 
be  there  at  the  time.  I  am  sure  you  will  not  seek  to 
deter  me  from  my  purpose. 

I  am  impatient  to  see  you  and  to  begin  to  learn 
what  my  country  needs.  I  feel  that  the  movement 
of  my  mind  is  due  to  the  counsels  of  my  husband. 
What  he  has  taught  me,  he  has  so  impressed  that  it 

will  never  be  effaced. 

ANANDABAI. 

Mrs.  Joshee  now  began  to  prepare  in  earnest 
for  her  removal  to  America.  This  last  letter 
shows  that  she  had  attentively  considered  all  the 
obstacles  in  her  path,  and  that  while  Hindu  rela- 
tives opposed,  her  American  friends  affectionately 
warned  her.  In  the  early  part  of  October  she 
looked  forward  to  travelling  with  friends  of  a 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thorburn,  probably  Missionaries, 
as  she  states  that  Mrs.  Thorburn  had  been  a 
graduate  of  the  Woman's  Medical  College  in 
Philadelphia  and  would  give  her  letters  to  friends 
there. 

On  the  17th  she  writes  as  if  there  had  been 
disappointment. 


74  LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

"I  am  ready,  but  the  company  is  still  to  find." 
"  Letters  have  been  sent  to  all  the  four  quarters." 
"  Missionaries  and  English  people  advise  me  to  go  di- 
rectly to  New  York,  to  delay  in  England  will  be  very 
expensive."  "  All  this  waste  of  time  fatigues  me." 

Nov.  28th,  1882,  she  continues  :  — 

"  Everything  is  going  on  through.  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Thorburn.  I  do  not  know  how  to  repay  their  kind- 
ness. I  can  only  thank  Him  who  gives  them  to  me. 
She  has  already  written  to  the  College  in  Philadelphia, 
but  I  must  wait  to  consult  with  you. 

"  I  shall  go  with  two  English  ladies  of  her  acquaint- 
ance who  will  start  in  February.  I  am  sorry  to  say 
that  the  Mahratta  family  who  were  so  kind  to  me  in 
Calcutta  are  wholly  changed  since  they  know  I  am 
going.  My  husband  wrote  them,  when  we  could  no 
longer  keep  it  secret.  They  have  only  one  child,  a 
boy  of  eight,  so  they  had  adopted  me  as  a  daughter. 
They  did  a  great  deal  for  me.  I  still  think  them  kind 
and  good.  Their  opposition  is  due  to  tender  hearts, 
fearful  minds,  and  foolish  superstition.  They  are  do- 
ing all  they  can  to  prevent  my  going  to  America,  but 
I  cannot  blame  them.  I  have  been  like  a  child  to 
them,  dutiful,  and  I  wish  to  continue  so. 

"  God  has  given  me  two  precious  things,  my  hus- 
band and  my  aunt.  You  will  see  how  I  have  hardened 
my  heart,  when  I  tell  you  that  I  will  be  happy  with 


LIFE  OF  A.NANDABAI  JOSHEE.  75 

you,  though  I  am  separated  from  him.  I  have  given 
all  my  cares  and  anxieties  to  Him  who  is  the  only 
Soul.  He  who  separates  us  will  bring  us  together 
again." 

Jan'y  16th,  1883,  she  writes  :  — 

"  You  must  be  expecting  to  hear  that  I  have  found 
my  escort  and  know  when  I  shall  start,  but  nothing 
is  settled.  I  have  been  to  Mrs.  Thorburn  on  the  first 
and  twelfth  of  this  month.  The  last  time  I  was  ad- 
vised to  join  a  medical  class  which  is  shortly  to  be 
opened  in  Calcutta  under  the  supervision  of  Dr.  Thor- 
burn. This  was  unexpected,  and  I  could  not  reconcile 
myself  to  it.  I  told  them  I  could  not  change  my 
plans.  Mrs.  Thorburn  said  she  would  do  her  best 
for  me,  but  knew  of  no  escort.  I  found  her  wholly 
changed,  and  wrote  to  my  husband. 

" '  I  saw  Mrs.  Thorburn  at  the  appointed  hour.  She 
has  disappointed  me.  Never  mind,  the  opposition  of 
friends  brings  God  to  my  side.  I  am  not  discouraged.' 
Before  he  received  this,  he  had  called  on  Dr.  Thorburn, 
and  shared  my  disappointment.  Instead  of  losing 
courage  he  went  off  to  plan  some  other  way,  so  I  am 
glad  to  tell  you,  that  I  will  start  early  in  February. 
My  husband  will  go  as  far  as  Madras  or  Aden,  till  he 
can  leave  me  with  a  trusty  friend.  Dear  Aunt,  every 
day  I  learn  something  new.  What  I  thought  to  be 
true  yesterday  I  find  to  be  false  to-day,  and  something 


76  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

else  to-morrow.  God's  ways  are  not  known  to  man. 
Do  not  think  I  have  anything  to  say  against  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Thorburn.  They  have  been  very  kind  and  took 
a  lively  interest  in  my  plans.  They  may  have  re- 
ceived bitter  letters  from  my  relatives,  or  they  may 
not  find  me  fit  for  encouragement.  Be  that  as  it  may, 
I  will  see  America,  the  dream  of  my  life,  and  I  will 
stand  or  fall  as  I  deserve. 

"  On  the  12th  was  a  holiday,  on  which  I  had  gone 
uninvited  to  Calcutta  to  distribute  sesamum-seed  and 
earthen  pots.  The  Mahrattas  treated  me  so  unkindly 
that  I  could  not  stay.  He  showed  such  a  temper  that 
I  bitterly  repented  going.  I  do  not  blame  them,  for 
they  had  treated  me  like  their  own  daughter.  They 
think  it  is  my  rashness  or  thoughtlessness,  which 
prompts  a  thing  so  hap-hazardous !  I  have  so  many 
difficulties  and  disappointments  that  I  have  not  an- 
swered your  last  two  letters." 

Jan.  23d,  1883,  she  writes,  "I  am  glad  to  say, 
that  I  shall  start  on  the  steamer  '  Quetta/  leaving 
Calcutta  via  England  on  February  17th." 

On  the  30th  she  says  again,  "  Nothing  is 
changed."  On  the  13th  of  February  she  writes 
from  Serampore :  — 

"  I  am  afraid  you  will  not  think  me  truthful.  Last 
time  I  spoke  of  one  thing,  this  time  of  another,  and 
who  knows  ?  it  may  be  something  els»  next  time  !  It 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  77 

would  be  madness  to  expect  you  to  believe  me,  when  I 
cannot  believe  myself.  Since  I  wrote  Dr.  Thorburn 
sent  a  letter  saying,  "  At  last,  we  have  made  a  very 
good  arrangement  to  send  Mrs.  Joshee  with  a  party 
of  ladies  by  the  '  City  of  Calcutta,' "  etc.  My  husband 
thanked  him,  but  did  not  accept  the  offer.  He  soon 
called  on  Dr.  Thorburn  and  told  him  of  my  plans. 
The  Doctor  said  the  Steamers  of  the  Line  my  hus- 
band intended  me  to  take  were  not  good.  Many  rough 
people  travelled  on  them  and  he  thought  I  was  too 
young  to  go  that  way.  He  added  that  the  '  City  of 
Calcutta'  would  carry  a  student  of  the  Philadelphia 
College  much  interested  in  my  plans.  My  husband 
thought  that  it  would  be  too  expensive  to  send  me 
first  class,  but  the  Doctor  assured  him  that  if  I  went 
with  a  party  of  Missionaries,  the  difference  would  be 
very  small.  So  my  husband  came  home,  and  the 
next  day  sent  the  Doctor  a  letter ;  in  which  he  said, 
"  If  this  lady  takes  my  wife  as  a  companion  to  please 
herself  we  shall  be  very  much  obliged,  but  if  it  is 
only  to  please  you,  and  there  is  any  grudge,  we  would 
rather  depend  upon  Him  who  has  created  us  all.' 

"  So  we  have  postponed  starting  for  America.  I  was 
confounded,  but  what  would  people  say  of  me  if  I 
despised  this  offered  help  ?  How  will  it  end  1  Some- 
times our  measures  bring  about  the  very  evils  they 
are  intended  to  prevent.  I  am  ashamed  to  speak  of 
starting.  If  God  pleases,  I  will  start  by  the  '  City  of 


78  LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

Calcutta'  about  the  first  of  April.  I  am  not  sure 
of  anything.  I  am  not  a  performer  of  anything.  I 
am  only  His  instrument.  The  whole  day  and  night 
I  dream  only  of  seeing  you." 

Such,  extracts  as  these  might  be  multiplied 
many  times.  It  seemed  as  if  Anandabai's  diffi- 
culties would  never  come  to  an  end,  but  with 
what  sweetness  and  serenity  she  encountered 
them !  A  rare  union  of  qualities,  for  many  who 
do  not  fail  in  sweetness  can  hardly  be  called 
serene.  How  touching  is  the  humility  with  which 
she  defends  the  Thorburns  and  the  Mahratta 
family  to  whom  she  was  so  closely  bound !  They 
are  not  to  blame,  they  have  received  bitter  letters 
from  her  family,  they  do  not  find  her  fit  for  en- 
couragement !  all  she  undertakes  must  seem  to 
them  "  hap-hazardous  ! "  However  it  seemed,  it 
came  truly  of  the  "counsels  of  God." 

And  now  she  had  come  to  the  crisis  of  her  life. 
Let  us  consider  what  manner  of  woman  she  really 
was  and  what  experience  she  had  had. 

Of  all  the  adventurous  tribes  who  travelled 
southwards  she  came  of  those  who  from  their 
hardihood,  endurance  and  enterprise  had  consti- 
tuted the  first  military  order  in  the  country.  In 
this  military  order  of  Eajpoots  a  still  more  in- 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  79 

telligent  and  adventurous  gens  originated,  and 
from  this  her  ancestors  were  bora.  The  record  she 
believed  her  family  to  have  kept  for  two  thousand 
years  was  the  record  of  exceptionally  brave,  stal- 
wart and  loyal  men.  The  mantle  of  one  of  these 
men,  distinguished  by  royal  gifts  and  the  founder 
of  her  family,  had  fallen  upon  her,  young  and 
tender  as  she  seemed.  Her  experience  of  life 
had  been  varied.  Her  childhood  had  been  passed 
between  Kalyan  and  Poonah.  At  Kalyan,  she 
was  the  daughter  of  a  large  landholder  every- 
where respected  and  beloved,  who  was  himself 
highly  intelligent  and  quite  as  distinct  a  mono- 
theist  as  if  he  had  publicly  enrolled  himself 
among  the  "Lions." 

At  Poonah  she  lived  in  a  princely  house  in  a 
city  of  refinement  and  resources.  In  neither  place 
could  she  ever  have  encountered  a  bold  glance  or 
a  disrespectful  word. 

Out  of  this  serene  atmosphere  her  marriage 
snatched  her.  Bombay  was  too  large  a  city  to 
treat  her  as  she  deserved,  when  her  mountain 
habits  attracted  attention. 

The  Island  of  dutch  had  introduced  her  to 
everything  that  was  repellent.  When  she  fixed 
her  affections  upon  a  family  of  her  own  people 
in  Calcutta  she  found  them  wholly  wanting  in  the 


80  LIFE  OF   ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

sincere  and  simple  piety  which  had  characterized 
her  father. 

At  Serampore,  where  her  husband  was  post- 
master, her  position  was  prominent  enough  to 
draw  the  attention  of  the  whole  native  popula- 
tion. No  one  was  inclined  to  aid  her.  It  was  at 
Serampore  that  Henry  Martyn  lived,  and  the 
Baptist  College  seemed  still  to  glow  with  the 
fire  of  his  saintly  life.  The  Christians,  European 
and  native,  did  not  wish  her  to  go  abroad  un- 
less she  would  submit  to  baptism  before  she 
went.  The  Brahmins  reviled  her  for  even  en- 
tertaining the  intention,  and  rejoiced  over  every 
fresh  obstacle.  As  the  rumors  of  repeated  dis- 
appointment and  repeated  fresh  endeavors  rose 
or  fell  the  excitement  increased.  The  Joshees 
lived  in  the  Post-Office  building.  At  last,  the 
disturbance  seriously  interfered  with  the  public 
business.  At  all  hours  the  building  was  thronged 
and  surrounded  by  groups  of  Bengalis  of  all 
castes,  whose  noisy  declamation  and  angry  gestures 
seemed  likely  to  reflect  discredit  upon  the  office 
itself.  In  this  condition  of  things,  Gopal  proposed 
to  get  permission  to  make  a  public  statement  of 
their  intentions  in  the  College  Hall.  He  was  very 
much  surprised  to  find  that  Anandabai  preferred  to 
make  the  statement  herself,  but  he  yielded. 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  81 

The  "courage  of  her  convictions,"  which,  car- 
ried her  to  the  platform  on  the  24th  of  February, 
1883,  has  not  yet  been  properly  estimated  in  this 
country.  It  is  not  likely  that  any  woman,  either 
native  or  European,  had  ever  addressed  a  public 
audience  in  that  place.  For  a  Brahmin  woman 
to  appear  in  public  at  all  was,  as  we  have  seen 
from  Anandabai's  Calcutta  experience,  a  grave 
misdemeanor.  For  her  to  appear  in  order  to 
justify  her  own  departure  from  the  ways  of  her 
fathers  was  doubtless  a  graver  still,  and  if  it  had 
not  been  for  the  general  excitement,  it  is  doubt- 
ful whether  the  use  of  the  hall  would  have  been 
granted. 

Be  that  as  it  might,  when  the  hour  came  the 
hall  was  crowded.  A  large  number  of  natives 
had  assembled,  and  with  them  a  few  Europeans. 
Among  the  latter  was  a  certain  Col.  Hans  Mat- 
tison,  American  Consul  General  in  India,  who 
was  stationed  at  Calcutta  and  had  from  the  very 
first  felt  a  deep  interest  in  her.  The  Eev.  Mr. 
Summers,  of  the  Baptist  College,  presided  at  the 
meeting.  Anandabai  made  no  preparation  and  had 
no  notes.  If  it  had  not  been  for  the  affection- 
ate care  of  CoL  Mattison,  we  should  have  lost 
this  remarkable  address.  Some  months  after  her 
arrival  in  this  country  Anandabai  received  half 
6 


82  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

a  dozen  printed  copies  of  it  from  Bombay,  without 
having  the  slightest  idea  from  whom  it  came. 

Omitting  her  Sanscrit  quotations  from  Manu, 
and  dropping  a  few  paragraphs  consisting  of  repe- 
titions, I  copy  here  the  little  pamphlet  issued  by 
the  "  Native  Opinion  Press,"  of  Bombay.  Cer- 
tainly if  it  was  ever  read  in  the  palace  at  Poonah 
it  must  have  touched  her  mother's  heart. 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN,  —  I  stand  here  to  fail,  as 
I  am  not  likely  to  succeed.  I  am  however  exceed- 
ingly thankful  to  you  for  the  trouble  you  have  taken 
to  attend  this  meeting.  You  may  have  gathered  here 
anxiously  to  hear  of  some  interesting  subject,  but  I 
am  afraid  you  will  be  disappointed  to  hear  me  talk- 
ing of  an  uninteresting  one.  But  what  should  I  do  1 
There  is  no  remedy.  Had  it  been  in  my  power  to 
give  you  a  pleasing  address,  I  would  have  done  so. 
The  only  attempt  I  have  ever  made  to  speak  in  pub- 
lic is  this.  I  have  studied  but  a  little  while  and 
the  language  which  I  intend  to  speak  in,  is  not  only 
foreign  but  thoroughly  out  of  command,  and  entirely 
unused.  I  am  therefore  liable  to  make  thousands 
of  blunders  even  in  grammar.  Many  of  those  who  are 
present  here,  are  mere  school-boys  who  will  rejoice 
to  find  that  I  am  not  equal  to  themselves :  the  young 
will  laugh  and  the  old  will  pity  my  ignorance. 

I  -wish  I  had  better  knowledge  of  the  language  to 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI   JOSHEE.  83 

attract  the  attention  of  you  all.  Pardon  me  for  the 
disappointment  you  will  have  to  suffer.  I  do  not 
wish  to  tire  you  by  a  long  preface,  and  as  I  want 
your  unfatigued  attention  to  a  long  narration,  I  beg 
to  discontinue  it. 

I  wish  to  thank  the  College  authorities  for  allowing 
me  to  stand  here,  more  especially  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Summers  for  presiding. 

Our  subject  to-day  is,  "  My  future  visit  to  America, 
and  public  inquiries  regarding  it." 

I  am  asked  hundreds  of  questions  about  my  going 
to  America.  I  take  this  opportunity  to  answer  some 
of  them. 

1.  Why  do  I  go  to  America? 

2.  Are  there  no  means  to  study  in  India  ? 

3.  Why  do  I  go  alone  ? 

4.  Shall  I  not  be  excommunicated  on  my  return  ? 

5.  What  shall  I  do  if  misfortune  befall  me  ? 

6.  Why  should  I  do  what  is  not  done  by  any  of  my 
sex? 

1.  I  go  to  America  because  I  wish  to  study  medi- 
cine. I  now  address  the  ladies  present  here,  who 
will  be  the  better  judges  of  the  importance  of  female 
medical  assistance  in  India.  I  never  consider  this 
subject  without  being  surprised  that  none  of  those 
societies  so  laudably  established  in  India  for  the  pro- 
motion of  sciences  and  female  education  have  ever 


84  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

thought  of  sending  one  of  their  female  members  into 
the  most  civilized  parts  of  the  world  to  procure  thor- 
ough medical  knowledge,  in  order  to  open  here  a 
College  for  the  instruction  of  women  in  medicine. 
There  is  probably  no  country  so  barbarous  as  India 
that  would  not  disclose  all  her  wants  and  try  to 
stand  on  her  own  feet.  The  want  of  female  physi- 
cians in  India  is  keenly  felt  in  every  quarter.  Ladies 
both  European  and  Native  are  naturally  averse  to 
expose  themselves  in  cases  of  emergency  to  treatment 
by  doctors  of  the  other  sex.  There  are  some  female 
doctors  in  India  from  Europe  and  America,  who  being 
foreigners  and  different  in  manners,  customs  and 
language,  have  not  been  of  such  use  to  our  women 
as  they  might.  As  it  is  very  natural  that  Hindu 
ladies  who  love  their  own  country  and  people  should 
not  feel  at  home  with  the  natives  of  other  countries, 
we  Indian  women  absolutely  derive  no  benefit  from 
these  foreign  ladies. 

They  indeed  have  the  appearance  of  supplying  our 
need,  but  the  appearance  is  delusive.  In  my  hum- 
ble opinion  there  is  a  growing  need  for  Hindu  lady 
doctors  in  India,  and  I  volunteer  to  qualify  myself 
for  one. 

2.  Are  there  no  means  to  study  in  India  1 
No.     I  do  not  mean  to  say  there  are  no  means,  but 
the  difficulties  are  many  and  great.     There  is  one  Col- 
lege at  Madras,  and  midwifery  classes  are  opened  in 


STATE  NORMAL  SCHWL, 

tos  Angeles  Cat. 


LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  85 

all  the  Presidencies;  but  the  education  imparted  is 
defective  and  not  sufficient,  as  the  instructors  who 
teach  the  classes  are  conservative,  and  to  some  extent 
jealous.  I  do  not  find  fault  with  them.  That  is  the 
characteristic  of  the  male  sex.  We  must  put  up  with 
this  inconvenience  until  we  have  a  class  of  educated 
ladies  to  relieve  these  men. 

I  am  neither  a  Christian  nor  a  Brahmo.  To  con- 
tinue to  live  as  a  Hindu  and  go  to  school  in  any  part 
of  India  is  very  difficult.  A  convert  who  wears  an 
English  dress  is  not  so  much  stared  at.  Native  Chris- 
tian ladies  are  free  from  the  opposition  or  public  scan- 
dal which  Hindu  ladies  like  myself  have  to  meet 
within  and  without  the  zenana.  If  I  go  alone  by  train 
or  in  the  street  some  people  come  near  to  stare  and 
ask  impertinent  questions  to  annoy  me.  Example  is 
better  than  precept.  Some  few  years  ago,  when  I  was 
in  Bombay,  I  used  to  go  to  school.  When  people  saw 
me  going  with  my  books  in  my  hands,  they  had  the 
goodness  to  put  their  heads  out  of  the  window  just  to 
have  a  look  at  me.  Some  stopped  their  carriages  for 
the  purpose.  Others  walking  in  the  streets  stood 
laughing,  and  crying  out  so  that  I  could  hear:  — 

"  What  is  this  ]  Who  is  this  lady  who  is  going  to 
school  with  boots  and  stockings  on?" 

"  Does  not  this  show  that  the  Kali  Uga  has  stamped 
its  character  on  the  minds  of  the  people  1 " 

Ladies  and  gentlemen,  you  can  easily  imagine  what 


86  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

effect  questions  like  these  would  have  on  your  minds  if 
you  had  been  in  my  place  ! 

Once  it  happened  that  I  was  obliged  to  stay  in 
school  for  some  time,  and  go  twice  a  day  for  my  meals 
to  the  house  of  a  relation. 

Passers-by,  whenever  they  saw  me  going,  gathered 
round  me.  Some  of  them  made  fun,  and  were  con- 
vulsed with  laughter.  Others,  sitting  respectably  in 
their  verandahs,  made  ridiculous  remarks,  and  did 
not  feel  ashamed  to  throw  pebbles  at  me.  The  shop- 
keepers and  venders  spit  at  the  sight  of  me,  and 
made  gestures  too  indecent  to  describe.  I  leave  it 
to  you  to  imagine  what  was  my  condition  at  such  a 
time,  and  how  I  could  gladly  have  burst  through  the 
crowd  to  make  my  home  nearer ! 

Yet  the  boldness  of  my  Bengali  brethren  cannot  be 
exceeded,  and  is  still  more  serious  to  contemplate 
than  the  instances  I  have  given  from  Bombay. 
Surely  it  deserves  pity !  If  I  go  to  take  a  walk  on 
the  strand,  Englishmen  are  not  so  bold  as  to  look 
at  me.  Even  the  soldiers  are  never  troublesome ;  but 
the  Babus  lay  bare  their  levity  by  making  fun  of 
everything.  "Who  are  you1?"  "What  caste  do  you 
belong  tol"  "Whence  do  you  come?"  "Where  do 
you  go?"  are,  in  my  opinion,  questions  that  should 
not  be  asked  by  strangers.  There  are  some  educated 
native  Christians  here  in  Serampore  who  are  suspi- 
cious; they  are  still  wondering  whether  I  am  mar- 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  87 

ried  or  a  widow ;  a  woman  of  bad  character  or  ex- 
communicated !  Dear  audience,  does  it  become  my 
native  and  Christian  brethren  to  be  so  uncharitable  1 
Certainly  not.  I  place  these  unpleasant  things  before 
you,  that  those  whom  they  concern  most  may  rectify 
them,  and  those  who  have  never  thought  of  the  diffi- 
culties may  see  that  I  am  not  going  to  America 
through  any  whim  or  caprice. 

3.  Why  do  I  go  alone  1      It  was   at   first  the  in- 
tention of  my  husband  and  myself  to  go  together,  but 
we  were  forced  to  abandon  this  thought.     We  have 
not  sufficient  funds ;  but  that  is  not  the  only  reason. 
There  are  others  still  more  important  and  convincing. 
My  husband  has  his  aged  parent  and  younger  broth- 
ers and  sisters  to  support.     You  will  see  that  his  de- 
parture would  throw  those  dependent  upon  him  into 
the  arena   of  life,  penniless  and   alone.      How  cruel 
and  inhuman  it  would  be  for  him  to  take  care  of  one 
soul  and  reduce  so  many  to  starvation !      Therefore 
I  go  alone. 

4.  Shall  I  not  be  excommunicated  when  I  return 
to  Indial     Do  you  think  I  should  be  filled  with  con- 
sternation at  this  threat]     I  do  not  fear  it   in   the 
least.    Why  should  I  be  cast  out,  when  I  have  de- 
termined   to  live   there   exactly   as   I   do    here  ?     I 
propose  to  myself  to  make  no  change  in  my  customs 
and  manners,  food  or  dress.     I  will  go  as  a  Hindu, 
and  come  back  here  to  live  as  a  Hindu.    I  will  not 


88  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

increase  my  wants,  but  be  as  plain  and  simple  as  my 
forefathers,  and  as  I  am  now.  If  my  countrymen 
wish  to  excommunicate  me,  why  do  they  not  do 
it  now  ]  They  are  at  liberty  to  do  so.  I  have  come 
to  Bengal  and  to  a  place  where  there  is  not  a  single 
Maharastra.  Nobody  here  knows  whether  I  behave 
according  to  my  customs  and  manners,  or  not.  Let  us 
therefore  cease  to  consider  what  may  never  happen, 
and  what,  when  it  may  happen,  will  defy  human 
speculation. 

5.  What  will  I  do  if  misfortune  befall  me  ?  Some 
persons  fall  into  the  error  of  exaggerated  declamation, 
by  producing  in  their  talk  examples  of  national  ca- 
lamities and  scenes  of  extensive  misery  which  are 
found  in  books  rather  than  in  the  world,  and  which, 
as  they  are  horrid,  are  ordained  to  be  rare.  A  man  or 
a  woman  who  wishes  to  act  does  not  look  at  that  dark 
side  which  others  easily  foresee.  On  necessary  and 
inevitable  evils  which  crush  him  or  her  to  dust,  all 
dispute  is  vain.  When  they  happen  they  must  be 
endured,  but  it  is  evident  they  are  oftener  dreaded 
than  experienced.  Whether  perpetual  happiness  can 
be  obtained  in  any  way,  this  world  will  never  give  us 
an  opportunity  to  decide.  But  this  we  may  say,  we 
do  not  always  find  visible  happiness  in  proportion  to 
visible  means.  It  is  not  a  thing  which  may  be  di- 
vided among  a  certain  number  of  men.  It  depends 
upon  feeling.  If  Death  be  only  miserable,  why  should 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  89 

some  rejoice  at  it,  while  others  lament  1  On  the 
other  hand,  Death  and  Misery  come  alike  to  good  and 
bad,  virtuous  and  vicious,  rich  and  poor,  travellers 
and  housekeepers ;  all  are  confounded  in  the  misery 
of  famine,  and  not  greatly  distinguished  in  the  fury 
of  faction.  No  man  is  able  to  prevent  any  catas- 
trophe. Misery  and  Death  are  always  near,  and 
should  be  expected.  When  the  result  of  any  hazard- 
ous work  is  good,  we  praise  the  enterprise  which 
undertook  it ;  when  it  is  evil,  we  blame  the  impru- 
dence. The  world  is  always  ready  to  call  enterprise 
imprudence  when  fortune  changes. 

Some  say  that  those  who  stay  at  home  are  happy, 
but  where  does  their  happiness  lie  1  Happiness  is  not 
a  ready-made  thing  to  be  enjoyed  because  one  desires 
it.  Some  minds  are  so  fond  of  variety  that  pleasure 
if  permanent  would  be  insupportable,  and  they  solicit 
happiness  by  courting  distress.  To  go  to  foreign 
countries  is  not  bad,  but  in  some  respects  better  than 
to  stay  in  one  place.  The  study  of  people  and  places 
is  not  to  be  neglected.  Ignorance  when  voluntary  is 
criminal.  In  going  to  foreign  countries,  we  may  en- 
large our  comprehension,  perfect  our  knowledge,  or 
recover  lost  arts.  Every  one  must  do  what  he  thinks 
right.  Every  man  has  owed  much  to  others.  His 
effort  ought  to  be  to  repay  what  he  has  received. 
Let  us  follow  the  advice  of  Goldsmith  who  says : 
"  Learn  to  pursue  virtue  of  a  man  who  is  blind,  who 


90  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

never  takes  a  step  without  first  examining  the  ground 
with  his  staff."  I  take  my  Almighty  Father  for  my 
staff,  who  will  examine  the  path  before  He  leads  me 
further.  I  can  find  no  better  staff  than  He. 

And  last  you  ask  me,  why  I  should  do  what  is  not 
done  by  any  of  my  sex  ?  To  this  I  can  only  say,  that 
society  has  a  right  to  our  work  as  individuals. 

It  is  very  difficult  to  decide  the  duties  of  individuals. 
It  is  enough  that  the  good  of  one  must  be  the  good  of 
all.  If  anything  seems  best  for  all  mankind,  each  one 
of  us  must  try  to  bring  it  about.  According  to  Manu, 
ue  desertion  of  duty  is  an  unpardonable  sin.  So  I 
am  surprised  to  hear  that  I  should  not  do  this,  be- 
cause it  has  not  been  done  by  others.  Our  ancestors 
whose  names  have  become  immortal  had  no  such 
notions  in  their  heads.  I  ask  my  Christian  friends, 
"  Do  you  think  you  would  have  been  saved  from  your 
sins,  if  Jesus  Christ,  according  to  your  notions,  had 
not  sacrificed  his  life  for  you  all  ? "  Did  he  shrink  at 
the  extreme  penalty  that  he  bore  while  doing  good  ? 
No,  I  am  sure  you  will  never  admit  that  he  shrank ! 
Neither  did  our  ancient  kings  "Shibi"  and  " Mayu- 
radhwaj."  To  desist  from  duty  because  we  fear  failure 
or  suffering  is  not  just.  We  must  try.  Never  mind 
whether  we  are  victors  or  victims.  Manu  has  divided 
people  into  three  classes.  The  meanest  are  those  who 
never  attempt  anything  for  fear  of  failure.  Those  who 
begin,  and  are  disheartened  by  the  first  obstacles,  come 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  91 

next ;  but  those  who  begin,  and  persevere  through 
failure  and  obstacle,  are  those  who  win. 

The  greater  the  difficulty,  the  greater  our  courage. 
Never  let  us  desist  from  what  we  once  begin. 

I  have  done.  I  am  afraid  I  have  exhausted  your 
patience  for  which  I  beg  to  be  excused. 

Thus  she  pleaded.  Let  us  imagine  a  young 
American  girl  in  her  situation !  Is  there  any- 
thing in  the  spirit  of  the  discourse  that  we  should 
wish  to  change  ?  The  expression  could  not  have 
been  the  same,  for  expression  is  born  of  experi- 
ence, of  our  own  experience,  and  that  of  gener- 
ations that  have  gone  before ;  but  in  all  that  is 
"pure  womanly,"  all  that  shows  loyalty  to  convic- 
tion and  courage  to  endure,  no  American  mother 
need  ask  more  from  her  child  than  Anandabai 
Joshee  was  able  to  give. 

She  writes  again  from  Serampore,  Feb.  27th, 
1833:  — 

"I  gave  a  lecture  on  the  24th  instant  at  the 
Serampore  College,  concerning  my  journey,  and  the 
public  inquiries  regarding  it.  There  was  a  large 
gathering  of  natives,  and  a  few  Europeans." 

On  March  6th  she  adds :  — 

"  After  hearing  of  my  lecture  Mr.  H.  E.  M.  James, 
the  Director  General  of  the  Post  Offices  of  India,  wrote 


92  LIFE  OF   ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

to  my  husband :  '  I  was  very  glad  to  hear  that  Mrs. 
Joshee  has  made  her  debut,  and  has  succeeded.  Pray 
give  her  my  congratulations.  I  wish  her  every  suc- 
cess. In  recognition  of  her  courage  and  public  spirit, 
permit  me  to  offer  the  enclosed  check  for  one  hundred 
Rupees,  which  may  be  useful  to  her.' " 

The  money  sent  by  Mr.  James  was  more  neces- 
sary than  many  of  Anandabai's  friends  would  sus- 
pect. She  never  asked  for  aid,  and  it  is  only 
since  her  death  that  we  have  learned  with,  sor- 
row that  the  massive  bracelets  and  bangles  given 
to  her  by  her  father  when  she  married  were 
quietly  sold  to  provide  her  passage  money  to 
America. 

"I  was  sorry,"  wrote  Mrs.  Summers,  "not  to  have 
been  present  at  your  lecture  on  Saturday  afternoon. 
I  had  to  conduct  a  Woman's  Bible  Class  just  at  that 
time,  but  my  husband  told  me  that  it  was  a  great 
success,  so  accept  my  congratulations." 

"  I  have  received  a  good  many  letters  from 
other  friends,"  she  writes.  "Mrs.  Thorburn  has 
written  me  a  letter  of  congratulation.  One  month 
is  still  to  pass."  The  sailing  of  the  steamship 
was,  however,  deferred  from  the  30th  of  March  to 
the  7th  of  April.  The  poor  child's  courage  was 
almost  spent.  On  the  3d  she  continues :  — 


LIFE   OF  ANNADABAI  JOSHEE.  93 

"  Overjoyed  with  the  approach  of  the  happy  time 
to  which  I  have  looked  forward  so  long,  I  sit  down 
to  write  what  may  be  my  last  letter.  Everything  is 
settled.  I  feel  better  since  I  know  that  there  is 
nothing  to  do  but  embark.  I  have  come  to  Calcutta 
with  my  husband.  We  are  with  a  Mahratta  friend, 
who  is  young  and  kind.  I  have  just  come  from  the 
Consul-General  of  the  United  States,  who  has  given 
me  two  letters  of  introduction.  I  shall  go  on  board 
on  the  evening  of  the  6th,  and  we  shall  start  the 
next  morning.  The  time  draws  near  in  which  we 
shall  be  in  one  country  and  one  place.  Every  mo- 
ment shortens  the  time." 

On  the  8th  of  April,  1883,  Gopal  wrote  to  Mr. 
Carpenter :  — 

"My  wife  sailed  yesterday  morning,  by  the  'City 
of  Calcutta,'  in  the  company  of  many  ladies  who  were 
strangers  to  her.  She  was  to  have  sailed  on  Monday, 
the  9th ;  but  early  in  the  morning  of  Friday  I  re- 
ceived word  that  she  must  he  ready  to  start  on  Satur- 
day. "We  had  invitations  for  the  next  three  days,  but 
could  only  decline  them  and  hasten  to  get  ready.  She 
was  not  introduced  to  the  ladies  with  whom  she  was 
to  travel  until  she  reached  the  ship,  and  even  then 
her  reception  was  cold  indeed.  Although  at  the  elev- 
enth hour,  I  advised  my  wife  to  expect  nothing  from 
them,  but  to  trust  to  Him  who  has  made  us  both. 


94  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

My  dear  sir,  I  took  good  care  of  her  until  her  depart- 
ure, and  now  I  hand  over  this  precious  charge  to  you 
and  your  worthy  wife." 

In  the  letters  that  I  have  quoted,  three  dis- 
tinct things  are  evident.  First,  Anandabai's  own 
originality  and  nobleness  of  mind  and  conduct; 
second,  a  sort  of  Fatalism,  common  to  Oriental 
people ;  and  third,  the  use  of  certain  phrases,  or 
proverbs,  evidently  taken  from  the  more  cynical 
lips  of  her  husband.  This  last  trait  will  not  be 
so  evident  to  my  readers  as  to  myself,  for  I 
dropped  the  phrases  out  of  my  text  wherever  the 
repetition  threatened  to  be  tiresome. 

Of  Anandabai's  journey  to  America  we  know 
very  little.  She  sailed  on  the  7th  of  April,  1883, 
and  arrived  in  New  York  on  the  4th  of  June.  On 
account  of  the  engagements  of  the  party  with 
which  she  travelled  she  remained  a  week  in  Lon- 
don, and  eight  days  at  Queenstown  on  account  of 
some  matter  connected  with  the  steamer.  The 
circumstances  of  her  journey  must  have  been 
evident  to  those  who  had  charge  of  her;  and  to 
us  who  know  her  it  seems  incredible  that  she 
could  have  passed  some  sixty  days  in  the  society 
of  any  number  of  people  without  awakening  in 
some  one  a  profound  interest.  In  speaking  of 
her  journey  she  said,  briefly,  that  she  was  always 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  95 

under  restraint,  as  those  she  travelled  with  could 
never  be  convinced  that  she  would  remain  a 
Hindu  in  her  faith,  and  felt  it  their  duty  to  press 
the  claims  of  the  Christian  religion.  She  did  not 
feel  at  home  in  London,  where  she  was  asked  to 
add  the  attractions  of  her  finest  saree  and  best 
jewels  to  those  of  any  social  gathering  in  which 
the  missionaries  naturally  desired  to  rouse  deeper 
interest.  At  New  York  she  was  met  by  her  near- 
est friends,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Carpenter,  of  Eoselle,  New 
Jersey.  She  had  already  adopted  them  into  her 
heart,  and  never  from  the  first  seems  to  have  had 
a  doubt  or  reserve  in  regard  to  them.  She  re- 
mained at  Eoselle  from  June  4th  to  Oct.  1st,  1883, 
and  in  these  four  months  stole  into  the  hearts  of 
those  who  met  her.  Before  leaving  India  she  had 
expressed  a  fear  that  she  might  become  tedious,  or 
seem  vulgar,  from  her  ignorance  of  our  manners. 
Instead  of  that,  she  was  everywhere  a  "  well-spring 
of  delight ! "  On  her  first  arrival  her  perfect  dig- 
nity was  never  sacrificed  to  the  indulgence  in 
curious  questions,  or  rude  stares,  which  were  so 
freely  bestowed  upon  herself,  yet  she  seemed  to 
miss  nothing. 

After  a  little  she  pursued  her  Sanscrit  studies, 
regardless  of  the  presence  of  visitors.  She  was 
often  called  off  to  sing  her  lovely  little  Hindu 


96  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI   JOSHEE. 

songs,  or  to  recite  verses  in  some  of  the  strange 
tongues  she  knew.  She  was  always  gracefully 
courteous,  but  the  words  of  approbation  or  admi- 
ration with  which  her  efforts  were  greeted  never 
seemed  to  touch  her.  Quick  to  note  every  fact 
presented  to  her,  grateful  for  every  bit  of  infor- 
mation, —  flattering  words  never  seemed  to  be 
understood.  "I  do  not  care  for  words,"  she  some- 
times said ;  "  I  know  how  my  friends  feel  without 
them."  Mrs.  Carpenter  was  at  first  surprised  that 
Anandabai  never  addressed  her  by  name ;  but  she 
soon  found  that,  from  the  Hindu  point  of  view, 
such  an  address  would  have  been  disrespectful. 
A  visit  to  Tiffany's  gave  Anandabai  great  pleas- 
ure; and  she  showed  such  knowledge  and  appre- 
ciation of  everything  Oriental,  that  the  finest 
goods  were  exhibited  as  if  to  a  favored  customer, 
and  she  was  urged  to  prolong  and  repeat  her 
visit. 

Anandabai  always  said  that  this  summer  was 
the  happiest  of  her  life.  I  think  she  spoke  the 
simple  truth ;  but  she  would  have  been  very  much 
surprised  if  any  one  had  pointed  out  the  true 
sources  of  that  happiness.  Yet  she  was  far  too 
truthful  not  to  have  recognized  them,  had  the 
attempt  been  made.  She  was  with  those  who 
really  loved  her,  and  who  asked  no  greater  privi- 


LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  97 

lege  than  to  aid  her  in  her  plans.  No  more  re- 
straints foreign  to  her  experience,  like  the  customs 
of  Bengal ;  no  more  bitter  letters  from  envious  or 
dissatisfied  kinsfolk,  —  nay,  still  farther,  none  of  the 
thousand  observances  and  deferences  required  of 
the  married  woman  by  the  customs  of  her  country. 
Every  morning  she  religiously  applied  the  scarlet 
paste  in  a  little  round  patch  to  her  forehead, 
which  proclaimed  that  she  was  a  wife.  Every 
day  she  added  some  loving  or  witty  words  to  the 
letter  sent  by  every  mail  to  her  husband  in  Ser- 
ampore,  but  there  all  ended ;  for  the  rest  she  was 
as  free  as  a  child,  and  like  a  child  she  glided 
about  the  house  humming  her  Hindu  songs.  She 
was  never  weary  of  talking  about  her  dear  native 
land,  and  this  summer  she  gave  a  great  treat  to 
her  Roselle  friends  by  improvising  for  their  benefit 
a  Hindu  feast.  Mrs.  Carpenter  was  at  this  time  / 
living  in  a  large  house.  All  the  furniture  was 
removed  from  the  dining-room,  and  the  smooth  in- 
laid floor  was  ornamented  and  divided  by  delicate 
stripes  of  red  and  white  about  four  inches  wide. 
Including  Anandabai,  there  were  eighteen  guests, 
and  eighteen  squares  were  drawn  in  red  and  white, 
one  for  each  guest,  surrounding  a  central  square. 
The  powders  had  been  brought  from  India.  The 
red  was  first  applied  in  a  broad  band,  and  then 

7 


98  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

the  white  was  sifted  over  it  from  a  brass  cylinder, 
perforated  with  small  holes  in  a  pretty  pattern. 
The  effect  was  like  that  produced  on  ladies' 
dresses  by  a  band  of  white  lace  applied  over  crim- 
son silk.  Within  the  four  corners  of  the  central 
square  were  drawn  intricate  geometrical  figures 
in  the  two  colors,  and  scroll-like  lines  on  the 
outer  corners  of  the  individual  squares  formed  a 
pretty  recess  for  the  fresh  green  leaves  of  the 
buttonwood.  These  had  been  sewed  together  to 
do  service  as  plates,  instead  of  the  long  banana 
leaf  which  would  have  been  used  in  India.  Trav- 
ellers in  India  have  not  unfrequently  seen  a  sim- 
ilar delicate  tracery  in  colored  sand  on  the  open 
road  as  they  have  approached  sacred  buildings, 
but  it  has  seldom  fallen  to  their  lot  to  participate 
in  a  native  feast.  Smooth  pieces  of  board  were 
placed  near  the  walls  within  each  square  to  take 
the  place  of  chairs.  Small  plates  were  set  near 
the  leaves  in  the  corner  to  hold  rice  and  curry. 
Sweetmeats  were  also  served  in  small  dishes.  The 
guests  half  reclined  upon  the  boards. 

The  ladies  were  all  dressed  by  Anandabai  in 
bright-bordered  Indian  sarees,  which  she  took 
from  her  own  wardrobe.  The  food,  consisting  only 
of  fruit  and  vegetables,  had  been  first  prepared 
and  then  served  by  her  own  delicate  hands.  A 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  99 

Sanscrit  prayer  was  reverently  offered,  and  then 
eighteen  dishes  of  the  peculiar  Hindu  cookery 
were  followed  by  coffee.  As  soon  as  each  guest 
was  supplied  and  the  surplus  carried  away  from 
the  dining-room,  Anandabai  entered  the  square 
reserved  for  her,  and  prepared  to  teach  her  guests 
how  to  eat  like  a  Hindu. 

None  of  them  had  dared  to  begin  till  she  took 
her  seat,  for  neither  knife,  fork,  nor  spoon  was  on 
the  board.  Anandabai  would  pick  up  a  morsel, 
bring  it  a  few  inches  from  her  plate,  and  then 
with  a  dexterous  twist  of  her  fingers  toss  it  into 
her  mouth.  It  seemed  to  fly  magically  to  the 
right  spot.  "  To  miss,"  she  said,  "  would  be  vulgar." 
After  dinner,  the  guests  repaired  to  the  parlor, 
where  a  large  mat  had  been  spread,  and  huge 
white  cushions  had  been  provided  for  the  ladies 
to  lean  upon.  Against  these  the  rich  colors  of 
the  Indian  sarees  made  a  pretty  show.  Every 
married  lady  had  the  scarlet  mark  on  her  fore- 
head, and  such  bangles,  necklaces,  and  other  orna- 
ments as  Anandabai  had  been  able  to  procure. 
To  the  ladies,  half  reclining  on  the  mat,  and  to 
the  gentlemen  standing  or  squatting  Hindu  fash- 
ion on  the  floor,  Anandabai  distributed  bouquets 
of  flowers,  and  on  the  back  of  each  right  hand 
she  left  with  her  dainty  finger  a  trace  of  attar  of 


100  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

roses,  which  she  took  from  a  phial  of  green  and 
gold. 

The  company  were  then  sprinkled  with  rose- 
water  from  a  silver  vessel,  and  Auandabai  sat 
down,  evidently  considering  that  her  work  was 
done.  Not  so  her  guests ;  they  had  heard  that 
Oriental  dinners  were  wont  to  conclude  with  song, 
and  at  their  earnest  entreaty  one  tender  ditty  or 
one  birdlike  caprice  followed  another,  until  all 
were  tired.  It  was  a  little  singular  that  on  this 
occasion  all  the  guests  seemed  to  approve  of  the 
unwonted  cookery. 

Not  once  did  Anandabai  show  any  signs  of  home- 
sickness. Little  did  she  know  what  she  promised 
when  she  told  her  people  that  in  America  she 
"would  eat  and  drink,  live  or  die  as  a  Hindu." 
Did  she  begin  to  see  how  hard  it  would  be  ? 
When  the  letters  from  India  came,  her  dear 
little  face  would  light  up  like  a  child's,  and  for 
days  after  she  would  go  humming  her  sweet  tunes 
about  the  house,  until  loneliness  began  to  make 
itself  felt,  and  then  she  was  silent  till  the  next 
mail  day.  Anandabai  could  talk  to  the  old,  amuse 
the  middle-aged,  and  play  gently  with  the  children, 
as  no  one  else  could.  The  children  thought  they 
were  going  to  teach  her  to  play  jack-stones.  The 
skill  of  her  very  beautiful  hands  was  always  some- 


LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  101 

thing  wonderful  to  Western  eyes.  In  botanical 
analysis,  or  delicate  surgery,  they  served  her  well. 
With  the  jack-stones  she  had  been  at  home  from 
childhood,  and  turning  her  palm  inside  out  she 
would  catch  the  whole  six  or  eight  in  the  hollow. 
Very  few  persons  thought  Anandabai  beautiful  at 
first  sight.  Almost  every  one  found  her  complexion 
darker  than  had  been  expected,  and  her  form  less 
graceful ;  but  to  every  one,  sometime  during  the 
years  that  followed,  there  came  a  sudden  revela- 
tion, a  day  when  the  soul  seemed  to  flash  through 
the  flesh,  to  burn  in  the  dark  eyes,  to  inform 
the  very  finger-tips,  and  sway  every  fold  of  the 
wonderful  dress. 

That  summer  she  had  the  offer  of  a  scholarship 
in  the  Homoeopathic  College  in  New  York,  but 
on  the  whole  she  and  her  friends  thought  it  best 
that  she  should  begin  with  a  four  years'  course 
in  the  Woman's  Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  it  was  gratefully  declined.  At  this  College 
Anandabai  was  matriculated  Oct.  3d,  1883.  She 
had  reached  Philadelphia  on  Friday,  September 
28th.  On  Saturday,  Dr.  Bodley  held  a  reception 
for  her.  The  good  Dean's  heart  had  been  won  at 
first  sight.  There  was  naturally  a  great  deal  of 
curiosity  concerning  Anandabai  as  soon  as  she 
appeared  in  the  streets  of  Philadelphia.  There 


102  LIFE  OF  ANANBABAI  JOSHEE. 

had  been  Turkish  and  Syrian  and  Chinese  pupils 
at  the  College,  but  Anandabai  was  the  first  pupil 
who  had  come  from  a  foreign  land  wearing  its 
native  dress  and  preserving  her  native  habits. 
It  is  greatly  to  the  credit  of  our  people,  that 
she  was  never  once  seriously  annoyed  by  their 
curiosity.  In  her  own  country  she  had  worn  a 
"divided"  saree.  The  shawl  passing  between 
the  legs  produced  the  effect  of  Turkish  trousers. 
As  this  would  not  have  been  suitable  to  our  cli- 
mate, she  consulted  her  Pundits,  and  an  ancient 
form  of  the  Mahratta  dress  was  found,  that  could 
be  worn  over  warm  underclothing. 

As  soon  as  she  left  Calcutta,  Anandabai  assumed 
a  "  union  suit "  of  flannel,  over  that  a  union  suit 
of  cotton,  then  a  skirt  of  flannel,  one  or  two  white 
skirts,  and  a  dress  made  with  a  plain  round  waist, 
coat  sleeves,  and  full  skirt. 

This  latter  article  was  for  protection  ;  the  waist 
of  it  took  the  place  of  the  queer  little  jacket  which 
covered  the  chest,  and  sustained  her  breasts,  in  her 
native  country.  Her  saree,  which  draped  her  en- 
tire figure,  concealed  the  skirt. 

The  saree  is  best  described  as  a  long  shawl; 
its  material  varies  according  to  work  and  weather, 
and  ranges  in  value  from  the  finest  camel's  hair, 
or  Dacca  muslin  wrought  with  solid  gold  thread, 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  103 

to  thin  bordered  cottons  that  scarcely  cost  a  rupee. 
This  shawl  is  never  lass  than  forty  inches  wide 
and  four  yards  long,  and  according  to  its  thickness, 
varies  from  four  to  eight  yards  in  length.  One  end 
of  Anandabai's  saree  was  brought  round  the  full 
skirt  I  have  described,  and  tied  by  both  corners  at 
the  waist  line  on  the  right  side,  in  a  small  hard 
knot.  The  other  was  then  passed  under  the  left 
arm,  to  the  back  and  over  the  right  shoulder,  across 
the  bosom  obliquely.  The  upper  border  was  then 
snugly  tucked  in  at  the  left  side  under  the  border 
which  had  been  first  tied  round  the  waist.  This 
allowed  a  good  part  of  the  length  of  the  long 
shawl  to  fall  diagonally  over  the  right  arm,  and 
down  before  her  person,  displaying  the  broad  bands 
of  the  border.  The  yards  of  material  yet  to  be  dis- 
posed of  were  gathered  by  the  dexterous  use  of  her 
hand  into  regular  plaits,  and  tucked  into  the  girdle 
under  the  falling  drapery  in  front.  This  caused 
the  handsome  broad  fringed  end  of  the  saree  to 
hang  in  graceful  folds  just  above  the  instep. 

When  finally  arranged,  no  part  of  the  under 
dress  was  visible,  except  that  which  covered  the 
left  arm  and  shoulder  and  a  portion  of  the  left 
side  of  the  bust.  The  right  arm,  which  sustained 
most  of  the  drapery,  came  slightly  into  view,  and 
in  ordinary  weather  the  shawl,  where  it  crossed  the 


104  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

right  shoulder,  was  lifted  so  as  to  cover  the  head, 
and  was  the  only  protection  worn  in  the  street. 
Anandabai's  sarees  were  made  of  cotton,  cotton 
and  silk,  cotton  and  gold,  silk,  silk  and  gold,  and 
camel's  hair  decorated  with  silk  and  with  silk  and 
gold,  and,  in  her  most  superb  dress,  with  gold  only. 
In  this  country,  of  course,  she  relinquished  the 
padded  and  divided  sandal  of  her  native  hills,  and 
wore  warm  woollen  or  cotton  stockings  with  but- 
toned boots.  This  dress  was  not  complete  till  ear- 
rings, a  nose-ring,  and  several  necklaces,  many 
bangles,  anklets,  and  finger-rings  were  added.  The 
longer  Anandabai  lived  in  America  the  less  she 
liked  to  wear  her  ornaments,  or  rather  those  orna- 
ments which,  like  the  ear-rings  and  the  nose-ring, 
recalled  a  savage  condition  of  society.  When  she 
wore  them  they  did  not  offend  me.  The  spray  of 
pearl  flowers,  with  hearts  of  rubies  and  emeralds, 
which  lay  across  her  upper  lip  was  called  a  "  nose- 
ring," but  it  was  not  a  "ring"  at  all  It  was  made 
of  whole  pearls  lightly  strung  upon  wire,  and  was 
hooked  into  the  left  nostril  so  near  the  cheek  that 
the  insertion  was  not  visible,  and  the  ornament 
seemed  to  harmonize  with  her  modest,  childlike 
bearing.  It  was  rather  like  a  spray  of  blossoms 
playfully  caught  and  held  between  her  lips.  Her 
most  valuable  anklets  and  bangles,  the  gift  of  her 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  105 

father  at  the  time  of  her  marriage,  had  been  sold 
in  India,  as  we  know,  to  furnish  the  money  for 
her  voyage  to  America,  but  she  preserved  some 
heirlooms,  which  were  very  curious,  and  greatly 
resembled  old  Aztec  work.  The  description  I 
have  given  of  her  draperies  applies  to  her  ordinary 
wear,  and  will  be  readily  understood  by  reference 
to  her  photographs ;  but  the  arrangement  varied 
somewhat  according  to  the  weather  and  the  weight 
and  length  of  the  material  employed.  I  questioned 
her  carefully  once  as  to  the  healthfulness  of  the 
native  dress.  She  thought  the  saree  very  incon- 
venient for  a  working  woman :  it  must  be  thrown 
back  when  the  wearer  was  busy,  and  then  the  per- 
son was  not  protected ;  but  she  never  experienced 
the  slightest  inconvenience  from  wearing  it  as  a 
student  until  her  lungs  began  to  fail.  Then  she 
found  it  very  hard  to  carry  the  drapery  upon  her 
right  arm,  and  acknowledged  that  the  left  side 
needed  more  covering. 

About  the  time  that  Anandabai  arrived  in  this 
country  an  article  was  published  in  Frank  Leslie's 
Illustrated  Newspaper  drawing  public  attention  to 
her.  It  was  written  by  her  friend  Hans  Mattison, 
the  American  Consul  General  at  Calcutta. 

"We  give  on  this  page,"  he  says,  "a  portrait  of 
Mrs.  Anandabai  Joshee,  a  Brahmin  of  high  social 


106  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

standing,  who  has  recently  produced  a  sensation  in 
India  by  breaking  away  from  Hindu  thought  and  cus- 
tom and  announcing  her  determination  to  secure  for 
herself  all  the  advantages  which  are  enjoyed  by  women 
in  Christian  lands.  When  it  is  remembered  that  the 
Brahmins  are  forbidden  to  cross  the  ocean,  to  eat  food 
which  has  not  been  prepared  by  Brahmins,  or  to  drink 
water  touched  by  European  hands,  and  that  the  viola- 
tion of  these  orders  involves  severe  penalties,  Mrs. 
Joshee's  heroism  becomes  strikingly  apparent. 

"  In  her  parting  address  she  said :  '  We  do  not  en- 
deavor to  modify  the  action  of  the  elements,  or  to 
fix  the  destiny  of  kingdoms.  It  is  our  business  to 
consider  what  human  beings  can  do,  each  striving 
to  secure  his  own  happiness  by  assuring  the  happi- 
ness of  others  within  his  own  circle,  however  narrow 
that  may  be.'" 

Dr.  Bodley  had  done  well  to  summon  the  best 
women  of  Philadelphia  to  meet  her  new  pupil  at 
the  outset.  In  this  way  a  solid  foundation  of  per- 
sonal interest  was  secured.  Her  friend,  Mrs.  Car- 
penter, came  with  Anandabai,  and  remained  a  day 
or  two  to  settle  her  in  her  own  home.  At  first 
the  little  room,  with  its  warm  stove,  and  cooking 
utensils  brought  from  India,  seemed  to  promise  a 
certain  cosey  comfort  for  the  winter,  and  to  sustain 
Anandabai's  resolution  to  live  in  all  things  like  a 


LITE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  107 

Hindu.  But  the  stove  smoked,  —  it  was  one  thing 
to  kindle  the  responsive  charcoal  on  the  little  pot- 
tery brazier  in  Hindustan,  and  another  to  deal 
with  the  tiresome  anthracite  in  America :  the  fire 
went  out.  If  the  brass  vessels  had  to  be  cleaned 
and  the  various  kinds  of  "dal"  cooked,  there 
could  not  be  time  for  necessary  study. 

Dr.  Bodley  saw  how  it  was ;  and  long  before 
her  one  line  of  complaint,  "  I  feel  very  lonesome," 
had  time  to  settle  into  serious  homesickness,  she 
was  removed  to  the  Dean's  house,  where  she  was 
granted  all  the  privileges  of  a  dear  daughter. 
"  How  kind  the  Americans  are ! "  she  wrote  ;  and 
as  Christmas  approached,  and  she  prepared  to 
spend  it  at  Eoselle,  she  added,  "  perhaps  you 
would  not  know,  dear  Aunt,  how  delightful  it  is 
to  get  ready  to  go  home ! " 

A  female  physician  who  had  been  very  kind 
to  Anandabai  died  about  this  time  at  Elizabeth 
in  New  Jersey. 

"  Is  she  taken  away  from  those  who  love  her  dearly 
and  need  her  so  badly  1"  our  little  Hindu  wrote. 
*'  What  a  mystery  this  world  is  !  Happy  to-day,  mis- 
erable to-morrow  !  How  true  that  our  deepest  sorrows 
flow  from  our  deepest  affections.  What  an  instru- 
ment of  torture  one's  own  heart  is !  '\ 


108  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

She  often  spoke  of  "  seeing "  this  friend  as 
simply,  and  with  as  little  thought  of  possible  con- 
tradiction, as  if  the  Doctor  had  walked  in  from 
the  street  in  the  flesh  to  call  upon  her. 

She  returned  to  the  College,  Jan.  2nd,  1884,  in 
deep  distress  of  mind,  occasioned  by  a  letter  re- 
ceived from  a  most  bitter  enemy  in  India.  She 
could  not  listen  to  her  lectures,  and  writes  as  fol- 
lows a  day  or  two  after :  — 

"My  face  was  clouded  by  my  indignation.  My 
friends  said  my  color  changed  from  red  to  blue,  and 
thought  I  was  sick.  All  at  once  a  beautiful  young 
lady  with  a  sweet  voice  came  and  sat  down  by  me, 
and  pressing  my  hand  with  her  own,  said,  — 

" '  Dear  child,  do  not  despond.  Providence  is  just 
and  merciful,  and  means  you  no  harm.  Have  courage 
to  endure  many  more  such  things.  Do  you  not  re- 
member how  I  was  persecuted  in  the  presence  of  my 
husband  the  king  1  Be  true  and  faithful.'  Then  she 
seemed  to  disappear.  I  felt  her  presence  though  I 
could  no  longer  see  her,  and  was  comforted." 

In  February,  1884,  Mrs.  Joshee  was  so  ill  of 
diphtheria,  that  for  a  short  time  her  life  was  de- 
spaired of.  The  best  medical  attendance,  a  trained 
nurse,  and  the  loving  care  of  Dean  Bodley  and 
Dr.  Schultze  saved  her.  It  was  during  this  spring 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  109 

that  Anandabai  gave  an  address  before  a  Ladies' 
Missionary  Society  upon  the  subject  of  "Early 
Marriages."  I  think  it  tried  the  patience  of  those 
who  were  interested  in  her  very  severely.  I 
have  never  seen  any  abstract  of  her  remarks,  but 
if  she  favored  early  marriages  was  it  strange  ? 
She  had  been  married  at  nine  years.  All  the  hap- 
piness of  her  life  had  flowed  from  the  instruction 
of  her  husband,  and  from  that  liberal  sympathy 
which  she  supposed  to  move  him  in  assisting  her 
to  come  to  this  country.  When  she  arrived,  she 
found  our  papers  full  of  conjugal  quarrels,  and 
applications  for  divorce.  Not  in  one  year  nor 
twenty  could  she  be  expected  to  solve  the  prob- 
lems whose  very  existence  filled  her  with  disgust. 
At  this  time  she  was  taken  frequently  to  schools, 
asylums,  and  public  institutions,  and  wherever  she 
could  learn  anything,  she  was  delighted  to  go.  A 
visit  to  Barnum's  Circus  gave  her  no  pleasure 
whatever. 

At  this  time  she  had  a  narrow  escape  from  death 
at  the  Morristown  Insane  Asylum,  where  she  had 
gone  to  witness  a  post-mortem  dissection.  She 
lingered  in  the  operating-room  for  some  reason, 
when  an  insane  woman  who  had  escaped  unob- 
served from  her  attendants  to  watch  the  operation, 
seized  one  of  the  sharpest  instruments,  and  ap- 


110  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

preaching  Mrs.  Joshee  announced  her  intention  of 
operating  upon  her.  The  woman  stood  between 
Anandabai  and  the  door,  and  only  those  who  knew 
the  latter  well,  can  guess  at  the  cool  smile  and 
wise  speech  which  disarmed  and  held  the  maniac, 
until  an  attendant  appeared.  I  remember  hearing 
with  some  interest,  soon  after  she  began  her  studies, 
that  she  was  the  only  one  of  her  class  who  re- 
mained through  a  lecture  accompanied  by  a  post- 
mortem dissection  of  an  infant.  When  I  spoke  to 
her  about  it,  she  only  said,  — 

"  It  would  have  been  better  if  it  had  not  been 
a  baby." 

During  the  summer  vacation  of  1884,  Anan- 
dabai went  with  some  relatives  of  Mrs.  Carpenter 
to  Saratoga.  Every  step  of  the  journey  was  full 
of  meaning  to  the  silent  little  traveller.  Her 
rippling  laugh  frequently  told  of  her  pleasure  on 
the  way.  Arrived,  it  pleased  her  very  much  to 
see  the  ladies  going  about  without  bonnets ;  the 
younger  going  to  the  springs  morning  and  evening 
without  even  a  veil  over  the  beautiful  hair.  Here, 
too,  she  made  her  first  acquaintance  with  North 
American  Indians.  In  one  young  squaw  she  took 
a  great  interest,  talking  with  her  about  manners 
and  customs,  and  receiving  from  her  several 
friendly  gifts. 


LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  Ill 

"  Ever  since  I  left  Roselle,"  she  now  writes  to  Mrs. 
Carpenter,  "  I  have  not  spent  a  day  without  my  new 
companion  the  headache.  Every  movement  gives  me 
pain ;  but  you  need  not  worry  about  it,  for  I  do  not 
let  it  interfere  with  anybody's  happiness,  nor  even  with 
my  own.  I  enjoy  the  blissful  quietude  of  all  country 
places.  One  day  at  Troy  we  had  some  cucumber 
pickles ;  the  pickles  looked  unnaturally  green.  I  sus- 
pected copper  in  them.  No  one  could  tell  me  about 
them,  so  I  took  a  needle  and  ran  it  into  one  of  the 
cucumbers.  In  a  few  minutes  I  was  satisfied,  for  the 
needle  had  turned  bright  red." 

In  October  she  resumed  her  college  work,  and 
writes  as  follows :  — 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA.,  Oct.  9th,  1884. 

MY  DEAR  AUNT,  —  Excuse  me  for  not  writing  earlier. 
The  College  opened  on  Thursday,  October  2d;  the 
opening  address  was  by  Professor  Parish ;  it  was  a 
charming  lecture,  useful  and  interesting  to  every  in- 
dividual, the  subject  being  Practical  Hygiene.  It  was 
timely,  and  benefitted  me  as  well  as  the  general  pub- 
lic. He  had  a  large  audience.  The  day  after,  my 
work  began ;  I  have  to  attend  all  the  lectures  except 
those  on  Materia  Medica  and  Surgery,  which  I  take 
up  next  year.  I  work  from  fifteen  to  sixteen  hours 
daily.  The  day  after  College  began,  Mrs.  Smith  and 
I  went  to  the  Electrical  Exhibition  in  the  evening, 


112  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

and  enjoyed  it  very  much.  I  enjoy  my  studies  more 
than  ever.  Professor  White  came  only  three  days 
ago,  so  we  had  our  first  lecture  on  Physic  yesterday. 
I  am  grieved  to  tell  you  I  am  to  lose  an  excellent 
friend  and  teacher.  The  sickness  of  Dr.  Emily  Du  Bois, 
Demonstrator  of  Anatomy,  was  sudden  to  us  all ;  but 
sfie  knew  it  before.  Faithful,  prompt,  and  thorough, 
she  neglected  her  own  self. 

I  have  not  taken  the  money  on  the  checque  just 
received  from  the  James  fund.  As  I  had  enough 
trouble  in  trying  to  have  another  cashed,  on  account 
of  the  wrong  spelling  of  my  name,  I  did  not  try  to 
borrow  any  more  trouble  that  day.  I  have  so  little 
time  to  spare.  I  have  not  a  cent  with  me,  but  owe 
a  little  to  Mrs.  Smith,  and  cannot  get  to  clinics  for 
the  same  reason.  I  have  had  a  very  severe  cold  for  a 
week,  and  am  aching  all  over. 

This  remark  about  the  James  fund  is  the  only 
allusion  to  be  found  in  her  correspondence  to  a 
matter  which  must  have  afforded  her  sincere 
pleasure. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Mr.  James,  the 
Director  General  of  the  Post  Offices  in  India,  had 
sent  one  hundred  rupees  to  Anandabai,  after  her 
address  at  Serampore,  and  expressed  his  pleas- 
ure at  her  success ;  he  did  not  lose  sight  of  her, 
and  some  time  after  her  arrival  in  this  country 


LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI   JOSHEE.  113 

Mr.  Joshee  sent  his  wife  the  following  circular, 
which  had  been  published  in  the  Calcutta  papers, 
and  was  written  by  Mr.  James :  — 

"  A  young  Brahmin  lady  has  recently  gone  to  Amer- 
ica to  study  medicine,  and  qualify  herself  as  a  medical 
attendant  for  native  ladies.  . 

"  In  doing  this,  she  and  her  husband  have  made 
great  pecuniary  sacrifices,  and  her  income  barely  suf- 
fices for  necessaries. 

"  Going  alone  among  strangers,  though  treated 
kindly,  she  has  had  to  encounter  many  obstacles  which 
she  has  bravely  faced.  In  recognition  of  her  courage 
and  public  spirit,  it  is  desired  to  raise  a  sum  -which 
will  pay  her  tuition  fees,  and  relieve  her  from  pecu- 
niary anxiety  during  her  absence. 

"  Mr.  James,  No.  2  Camoe  Street,  Calcutta,  will  be 
happy  to  receive  subscriptions. 

Subscriptions. 

Rupees. 

His  Excellency  the  Viceroy  and  Governor-General    .  200 

His  Honor  the  Lieut.-Governor 100 

The  Honorable  Chief-Justice  Garth 50 

The  Hon.  J.  Gibbs,  C.  S.  L,  C.  I.  E 100 

The  Hon.  C.  I.  Albert,  C.  I.  E 50 

The  Hon.  Mr.  Justice  Pigot        50 

Mr.  James 200 

750 


114  LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

It  was  this  money,  with  whatever  was  sub- 
sequently added  to  it,  that  Mrs.  Joshee  refers  to 
as  the  "James  fund." 

She  often  complains  now  of  taking  cold. 

Mr.  Sattay,  a  friend  of  Gopal's,  came  from  India 
in  November,  bringing  with  him  bright  sarees 
and  embroidered  jackets  for  Anandabai.  It  was 
delightful  to  her  to  hear  the  familiar  rippling 
cadences  of  the  Mahratta  tongue  once  more. 

In  December,  1884,  she  came  to  Washington 
and  made  what  we  both  intended  should  have 
been  the  first  of  many  visits  to  me.  The  final 
decline  of  her  health,  and  the  circumstances  of 
her  last  year  in  this  country,  interfered.  This 
visit  was  the  only  one. 

I  had  seen  her  for  the  first  time  shortly  after 
her  arrival  in  Philadelphia,  on  the  6th  of  October, 
1883.  In  my  diary  for  that  day  I  find  the  follow- 
ing entry  connected  with  various  items  of  infor- 
mation already  communicated  in  these  pages :  — 

"I  had  promised  to  pass  the  evening  at  Dr. 
Bodley's,  that  I  might  meet  the  young  Mahratta 
woman,  who  has  come  here  to  study  medicine.  As  I 
had  a  high  opinion  of  the  intelligence  of  her  tribe,  I 
was  surprised  to  find  that  a  '  nose-ring '  formed  part  of 
her  costume  although  she  wisely  refrains  from  wearing 
it.  Certainly,  I  never  heard  it  spoken  of  in  conneo 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  115 

tion  with  Bengali  women.  She  insists  on  wearing 
her  native  dress,  and  although  she  wore  three  neck- 
laces, three  pairs  of  earrings,  her  nose-ring  as  a  brooch, 
six  pairs  of  bangles,  and  a  saree  of  crimson  and  gold, 
at  the  reception  held  for  her  by  Dr.  Bodley,  she 
was  so  plainly  dressed  to-night  that  she  would  have 
attracted  no  attention  in  the  street,  provided  she  had 
worn  a  bonnet.  She  was  however  so  ill  that  I  ought 
not  to  judge  her.  She  looks  like  a  stout  dumpy 
mulatto  girl  not  especially  interesting  until  her  yel- 
low face  lights  up,  and  light  up  it  did  as  soon  aa 
she  gathered  from  a  helping  word  of  mine,  that  I  was 
familiar  with  the  customs  of  her  people.  I  cannot 
describe  the  effect.  It  was  magical.  She  speaks  seven 
languages,  of  which  English,  Sanscrit  and  Mahratta 
are  three.  Her  English  is  exquisite.  There  is  hardly 
a  flaw  in  pronunciation  or  construction.  If  I  had  not 
known,  I  should  have  thought  her  born  in  this  country. 
She  has  not  a  single  '  cockney '  trick  of  speech. 

"  She  has  none  of  the  delicate  features  which  dis- 
tinguish the  Bengalis. 

"  Her  feeling  of  caste  is  still  uppermost.  She  re- 
ceives her  guests  with  impassive  dignity  like  a  true 
Oriental,  and  was  one  of  only  two  or  three  in  her  class 
who  chose  to  stay  and  see  a  painful  operation  for  ne- 
crosis performed  on  a  young  child  this  week.  It  was 
not  from  indifference,  for  she  spoke  of  it  with  painful 
emotion.  She  has  shown  curiosity  but  once,  however 


116  LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEK 

much  she  may  have  felt  it.  Among  those  invited  to 
meet  her  was  a  mulatto  lady,  who  took  a  medical  de- 
gree two  or  three  years  ago,  and  is  highly  esteemed 
in  Philadelphia.  Anandabai  looked  her  all  over  and 
evidently  did  not  make  her  out.  There  was  nothing 
to  show  her  that  the  mulatto  was  not  a  Hindu  except 
the  European  dress. 

"I  was  much  interested  in  my  conversation  with 
this  woman,  however  disappointed  I  felt  as  to  her 
personal  attractions.  She  had  a  blue  tattooed  mark 
between  her  eyes,  a  little  like  an  anchor.  She  told 
me  that  this  was  inserted  soon  after  birth,  that  she 
might  be  recognized  as  a  Hindu,  not  mistaken  for  a 
Mahometan.  Sometimes  she  thought  family  marks 
were  made  in  the  same  way.  The  scarlet  spot  of  paste 
which  she  wore  on  her  forehead  must  be  put  on  fresh 
every  morning,  by  every  married  woman,  as  a  sign 
that  she  is  married,  and  the  marriage  vows  must  be 
silently  repeated  when  it  is  laid  on.  Certainly,  there 
are  married  women  in  this  country  who  might  well 
follow  the  fashion ! 

"  When  we  parted,  she  put  out  her  hand.  *  I  feel 
as  if  I  had  found  a  friend,'  she  said.  '  It  is  the  first 
time  anybody  has  known  about  me/  and  then  I  saw 
beauty  in  the  lambent  eyes." 

As  time  went  on,  I  grew  familiar  with,  what 
had  at  first  disappointed  me,  and  saw  the  fascina- 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  117 

tions  of  movement  and  manner  that  others  felt 
so  deeply.  It  was  the  Oriental  charm,  but  I  do 
not  think  that  in  her  own  country  she  would  ever 
have  been  called  handsome.  Her  motions  were 
sinuous,  not  serpentine  like  those  of  the  Bengalis. 
Her  beautiful  hands  and  feet,  her  elastic  muscles 
belonged  to  her  race  rather  than  herself.  In  one 
respect  from  first  to  last,  she  was  herself  alone,  in 
the  sweetest  truthfulness,  the  most  entire  candor, 
that  ever  belonged  to  a  mortal,  and  I  have  good 
reason  to  think  that  this  is  not  a  common  Hindu 
trait. 

Mrs.  Carpenter  thought  her  very  beautiful,  "but 
not  at  first.  The  thought  came  upon  her  suddenly, 
when  Mrs.  Joshee  came  down  one  morning  dressed 
for  church,  and  radiant  with  her  own  holy  thoughts. 

In  her  conversation  with  me,  Anandabai  talked 
about  the  Theosophists  and  the  Brahmos,  and  if 
she  had  not  distinctly  said  in  her  address  at  Ser- 
ampore,  that  she  was  not  a  Brahmo,  I  should  have 
supposed  her  to  be  one,  so  much  sympathy  did 
she  show  with  their  movement.  I  saw  her  once 
more  and  wrote  to  her  and  heard  from  her  sev- 
eral times  before,  on  the  26th  of  Dec.  1884,  I 
went  to  the  cars  to  bring  her  to  my  Georgetown 
house.  Everything  about  her  arrival  was  unfor- 
tunate. The  cars  were  so  late  that  the  carriage 


118  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

I  had  engaged  was  gone,  and  the  demand  on  their 
arrival  so  great,  that  having  no  escort  it  was  im- 
possible for  me  to  secure  another.  We  were 
obliged  to  go  out  in  a  horse-car,  and  this  was  not 
desirable  on  account  of  the  attention  she  could  not 
fail  to  attract.  Beside  this,  she  had  some  heavy 
hand  baggage  which  she  would  not  let  me  carry 
up  the  hill.  I  remarked  with  surprise  the  calmness 
with  which  she  endured  the  curious  gaze  of  our 
companions,  and  the  courage  with  which  she  bore 
her  burden  and  encountered  the  necessary  fatigues. 
She  was  a  striking  contrast  to  the  English  ladies 
who  came  over  to  Philadelphia  with  the  British 
Association  that  same  year.  During  her  stay  with 
me  I  took  her  to  all  the  public  buildings,  to  a 
service  at  the  Unitarian  church,  to  several  private 
lunches,  to  dine  with  Commodore  Walker's  family 
and  two  other  friends,  and  to  several  receptions. 
Nowhere  did  any  peculiar  awkwardness  draw  any 
attention  to  her  foreign  education. 

It  pleased  her  to  steal  quietly  about  my  house, 
taking  up  and  touching  the  various  articles  that 
had  been  sent  from  India. 

On  the  29th  of  December,  I  wrote  in  my 
Journal :  — 

"  A  very  unpleasant  day,  but  we  had  fifty-two  callers, 
and  in  the  evening  gave  a  light  supper  to  thirty. 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.       119 

Last  evening  Mrs.  Joshee  talked  well,  about  the  an- 
tiquity of  her  nation,  and  of  her  family  record,  which 
she  asserts  is  two  thousand  years  old.  She  promises 
to  write  me  details  about  it,  and  to  send  me  some  of 
the  peculiar  paper  upon  which  it  is  written,  when  she 
returns  home.  To-night,  before  quite  a  large  company, 
she  talked  in  an  earnest  and  excited  way  about  the 
religions  of  the  world,  showing  a  profound  intelligence 
as  well  as  scholarship.  Then  for  a  while  in  a  very 
entertaining  way  about  jewels  and  costumes.  Her 
best  talk  was  with  the  Rev.  Theodore  Wynkoop,  after 
most  of  our  friends  had  gone. 

"  To-night  she  wore  a  close  satin  vest  embroidered 
with  gold,  and  a  white  camel's  hair  shawl  or  saree 
deeply  bordered  with  gold ;  also  her  collars  and  neck- 
laces of  jewels,  and  for  the  first  time,  at  my  request, 
her  'nose-ring.'  This  is  a  spray  of  flowers  two  or 
three  inches  long,  and  made  of  fine  old  pearls.  The 
pearls  were  some  of  those  given  by  the  king  to  her 
warlike  ancestor  in  Poonah.  The  centres  of  the  star- 
like  flowers  are  of  ruby  and  emerald.  A  fine  wire 
attaches  it  to  the  left  nostril  close  to  the  cheek.  It 
is  very  effective,  much  prettier  than  ear-rings,  and 
looks  as  if  she  were  holding  a  spray  of  flowers  between 
her  lips." 

We  went  some  days  after  to  see  Major  Powell, 
and  arranged  for  some  specimens  of  North  Ameri- 
can pottery  which  Anandabai  wanted  to  cany  to 


120  LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

India  and  promised  to  replace  by  specimens  from 
Poonah.  After  a  visit  to  the  White  House,  I 
spent  one  evening  in  taking  notes  of  her  conver- 
sation. Very  much  longer  should  I  have  written 
had  I  guessed  for  a  moment  that  it  would  be  my 
last  opportunity. 

Previous  to  Anandabai's  arrival  in  this  country, 
a  letter  of  her  writing  was  sent  to  a  psychome- 
trist  in  New  York.  The  following  "  impression  " 
derived  from  this  letter,  and  dated  January  20th, 
1881,  nearly  a  year  and  a  half  before  any  Ameri- 
can had  seen  her,  has  been  copied  into  a  Calcutta 
paper,  and  sent  to  me  since  I  began  to  write  these 
pages.  It  seems  to  me  so  just  an  estimate  of  her 
character,  that  I  value  it  exactly  as  I  wine  the 
"  impressions  "  of  John  Quincy  Adams  and  Daniel 
Webster,  written  out  by  my  friend  Anna  Parsons 
more  than  thirty  years  ago. 

"This  is  an  intellectual  well-balanced  mind,  cul- 
tivated with  great  care,"  the  paper  begins.  "The 
writer  is  a  lady  of  more  than  ordinary  brain  power, 
very  independent,  but  neither  egotistical  nor  intoler- 
ant. She  is  not  afraid  to  investigate  any  subject  how- 
ever unpopular.  She  is  analytical  and  very  frank  in 
speaking  her  mind.  She  converses  fluently  and  meets 
strangers  with  a  cordial,  graceful  ease  that  wins  confi- 
dence and  esteem.  She  has  talent  as  an  instructor,  a 


LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  121 

clear  style  of  expression  easy  to  be  understood.  She 
has  great  equanimity,  enjoys  the  attention  of  refined 
people,  and  naturally  drifts  into  the  society  of  the  best, 
but  never  shrinks  from  those  less  fortunate  if  she  can 
do  them  good.  She  has  a  taste  for  missionary  work, 
and  an  executiveness  and  systematic  way  of  managing 
that  are  quite  original.  She  has  great  delicacy  of 
character,  is  womanly  in  eveiy  respect,  has  an  ardent 
love  of  nature  and  clings  to  old  friends  and  associa- 
tions and  to  family  ties.  Her  radicalism  springs  from 
a  holy  desire  to  do  her  duty.  She  has  a  religious  cast 
of  mind,  is  very  spiritual  but  seems  to  know  nothing 
of  spiritualism.  Her  penetrative  mind  is  constantly 
reaching  for  more  light.  She  perceives  the  character 
of  others  readily  and  is  seldom  deceived,  has  a  fine 
memory  and  good  descriptive  powers.  In  travelling 
nothing  escapes  her. 

"  I  see  her  in  the  future  as  one  who  has  no  superior ; 
living  for  truth,  justice,  and  honor.  She  will  always 
defend  the  weak.  She  has  great  forbearance,  is  sel- 
dom offended,  and  when  she  is,  it  passes  and  leaves  no 
cloud  upon  her  brow.  She  has  a  large  hope  which  will 
sustain  her  as  long  as  she  lives." 

Since  I  began  to  write  this  Life,  I  have  met  a 
gentleman  who  listened  to  Anandabai's  talk  at  my 
house  on  the  evening  to  which  I  have  alluded.  I 
asked  him  if  he  had  preserved  any  record  of  that 


122  LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

brilliant  conversation.  "No,"  he  said  thought- 
fully, "  I  cannot  report  anything  that  she  said,  but 
I  remember  wondering  when  I  realized  how  soon 
the  foreigner  and  the  lion  I  went  to  see,  was  lost 
in  the  sweet  and  cultivated  woman  with  whom  it 
was  a  pleasure  to  talk." 

During  that  year  Anandabai  made  a  convert. 
She  was  invited  to  tea  one  evening  by  a  young 
physician  who  seemed  to  think  that  she  should 
please  her  guest  by  a  sort  of  agnostic  conversation, 
expressing  utter  scepticism  as  to  the  existence  of 
a  Supreme  Being,  which  was  on  the  contrary  very 
painful.  Anandabai  sat  quietly  through  the  meal, 
but  when  it  was  over,  she  asked  her  hostess  to 
withdraw  with  her.  As  soon  as  they  reached  a 
chamber,  she  placed  the  astonished  girl  in  a  chair, 
and  kneeling  down  beside  her,  entreated  God  to 
take  pity  on  her  and  send  her  light. 

The  consequences  of  this  interview  were  re- 
markable. Some  time  after,  Anandabai  writes  of 
her:  "She  used  to  laugh  at  every  one  who  believed 
in  God.  There  is  no  more  satirical  speech.  She 
invited  me  to  tea.  After  supper  I  was  surprised 
to  see  her  sit  piously  with  folded  hands  and  in- 
vite me  to  do  the  same.  What  a  change ! " 

How  little  had  it  ever  entered  into  the  head  of 
our  dear  friend,  when  she  prepared  for  coming  to 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  123 

America,  that  she  would  ever  be  called  to  a  duty 
like  this !  Yet  she  had,  as  the  psychometrist  said, 
the  heart  of  a  missionary  in  her. 

During  this  year  she  made  several  excursions 
into  different  parts  of  Pennsylvania  and  delivered 
an  address  to  the  students  of  the  College  at  Bor- 
dentown,  New  Jersey. 

Mr.  Joshee  arrived  from  India  during  the  sum- 
mer of  1885.  The  first  notice  of  his  coming  was 
received  through  California  newspapers  which 
were  sent  to  his  wife's  dearest  friends.  How 
strangely  small  this  world  appears  when  we  reflect 
that  wherever  we  travel,  we  cannot  escape  those 
who  are  on  the  watch  for  our  misdeeds !  In  this 
paper,  Mr.  Joshee  was  reported  as  having  made 
an  address  unfriendly  to  the  higher  education  of 
women.  "This  unfitted  them,"  he  asserted,  "for 
the  domestic  duties  of  wives  and  mothers."  A 
voice  from  the  crowd  shouted,  "I  thought  your 
own  wife  was  studying  medicine  in  Philadel- 
phia ? "  "  Oh,  yes ! "  said  Mr.  Joshee,  and  then  he 
shrugged  his  shoulders  and  spread  out  his  hands, 
as  if  he  would  say,  "How  could  I  help  that?" 
When  I  received  this  paper  I  sent  it  at  once 
to  Philadelphia,  with  the  inquiries  it  suggested. 
All  our  friends  were  troubled.  No  one  seemed 
to  know  whether  Anandabai  had  received  the 


124  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

news,  but  the  moment  we  met  in  the  autumn  I 
knew  that  she  had  seen  the  paper.  A  change 
had  passed  over  her  as  subtle  as  that  the  hoar- 
frost breathes  over  the  summer  grass.  She  met 
her  husband  at  Eoselle  and  in  that  summer  — 
the  summer  of  1885  —  she  went  with  him  to 
Greenwood,  and  to  hear  Talmage  and  Ward 
Beecher  in  Brooklyn.  Mr.  Joshee  went  alone 
to  Washington.  Of  course,  he  did  not  find  me 
there,  but  he  went  to  my  house,  and  there  en- 
countered the  lady  who  had  charge  of  it  in  my 
absence.  More  ignorant  than  the  rest  of  us  of 
various  embarrassing  complications,  this  lady,  who 
had  been  greatly  attracted  to  his  wife,  looked  at 
him  sharply  and  said,  "Was  it  you,  then,  who 
made  that  speech  in  San  Francisco  ? "  "  Yes,"  re- 
plied Gopal.  "  And  what  did  you  do  it  for  ? "  she 
persisted.  "  Just  for  a  little  fun,"  was  the  answer. 
"  I  thought  I  would  stir  them  up  a  little." 

Mr.  Joshee  could  have  had  a  very  inadequate 
idea  of  the  interest  Anandabai  had  aroused  in  this 
country,  and  he  could  have  understood  very  little 
the  character  of  his  wife,  if  he  expected  her  to  be 
pleased  by  fun  of  that  sort.  I  have  recorded  his 
reply,  because  I  never  gratified  him  by  any  in- 
quiries concerning  the  matter,  nor  am  I  aware 
that  any  of  his  wife's  friends  ever  did  so.  Anan- 


LIFE   OF  ANA.NDABAI  JOSHEE.  125 

dabai  spent  her  Christmas  vacation  at  Roselle,  and 
as  she  was  to  graduate  in  March,  she  devoted 
much  of  this  time  to  the  preparation  of  her  grad- 
uation "Thesis"  on  "Hindu  Obstetrics." 

After  the  fifty  pages  were  finished  and  sub- 
mitted, she  wrote  as  follows  to  Mrs.  Carpenter: 

PHILADELPHIA,  Jan.  31st,  1886. 
MY  DEAR  AUNT,  —  Your  disappointment  in  my 
change  of  plan  is  not  greater  than  mine.  I  had 
planned  for  four  months  ahead,  from  March.  I  had 
forty  and  one  things  to  finish  or  accomplish  before 
my  Hospital  service  began.  But  things  rotated,  no 
doubt,  for  our  best.  I  found  I  must  enter  the  New 
England  hospital  next  May.  You  know  I  have  given 
up  Blockley  entirely,  but  will  try  the  competitive  for 
the  Woman's  Hospital  for  six  months.  The  friends 
and  authorities  of  the  New  England  Hospital  are  very 
kind  to  me.  They  have  made  special  arrangement  for 
me  to  go  there  for  six  months,  which  is  not  generally 
allowable  at  all.  Beside,  my  application  went  too  late, 
all  the  places  were  filled,  yet  they  are  so  anxious 
to  help  me,  that  they  are  going  to  accept  me  as  an 
extra  student  or  interne.  Such  students  pay  board, 
but  they  make  me  their  guest.  Dr.  Tyng  is  also 
willing  to  take  me  for  six  months  provided  I  pass  the 
competitive.  Now  everything  depends  on  my  gradu- 
ating. If  faithful  attendance  and  diligent  study  with 


126  LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

some  practical  knowledge  deserve  any  reward  at  all, 
I  have  no  reason  to  fear  next  March,  but  I  have  to 
wait  for  it. 

Do  not  buy  me  anything  for  my  graduation.  Your 
presence  will  make  me  more  happy  than  any  gift.  It 
is  not  as  if  I  had  no  memento ;  but  nothing  can  be 
added.  If  you  were  troubled  with  wealth,  I  would 
accept  anything  you  might  present  me.  Now  I  hope 
you  will  present  yourselves,  which  is  the  richest  of 
gifts. 

I  had  the  misfortune  to  fall  on  the  ice  and  break 
all  the  bangles  on  my  right  arm.  My  husband  bought 
me  a  gold  bracelet,  as  I  could  not  go  without  any- 
thing. If  every  fall  would  bring  as  much  gold,  would 
you  consider  it  a  misfortune  ?  I  called  it  so,  because 
the  money  might  have  bought  me  an  instrument  that 
would  have  been  useful  or  a  book  that  would  have 
been  instructive.  I  got  another  present  as  a  gradu- 
ating student,  five  weeks  in  advance.  It  is  a  beauti- 
ful gold  watch.  It  was  given  me  by  a  wealthy  lady, 
whom  you  will  probably  see  in  March. 

Our  theses,  ticket  money,  and  application  for  de- 
gree were  sent  in  last  week.  I  do  not  yet  know 
whether  my  "  Thesis  "  is  accepted.  There  were  fifty 
pages  of  it,  just  fitting,  so  that  not  another  word  could 
have  gone  in ;  the  longest  one  they  had. 

It  is  quite  evident  that  Anandabai  was  still  so 
completely  a  Hindu  that  she  considered  her  ban- 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI   JOSHEE.  127 

gles  as  necessary  as  her  saree.  I  thought  I  saw 
a  great  change  in  her,  when  we  met  this  year 
in  October.  Not  only  was  she  more  delicate  in 
health,  but  she  seemed  to  have  lost  courage.  It 
is  certain  that  she  did  not  take  and  could  never 
afterward  resume  the  place  she  had  easily  held 
for  the  last  two  years  in  the  College  Classes.  If 
her  graduation  had  depended  upon  this  last  year, 
she  could  not  have  taken  her  degree.  Her  con- 
dition will  perhaps  explain  the  following  letter, 
written  Feb.  8th,  1886  :  — 

"  Love  and  duty  are  sacred  and  my  own.  I  can 
always  love,  although  I  cannot  always  expect  to  be 
loved.  So  I  can  always  perform  my  own  duty,  al- 
though I  may  not  persuade  others  to  theirs.  I  do 
not  do  this  for  the  promise  of  any  earthly  pleasure 
nor  even  for  those  termed  Heavenly,  but  for  simple 
duty's  sake.  Heaven,  if  it  be  only  a  place  of  indul- 
gence and  banqueting,  would  have  no  charm  for  me, 
for  these  might  disappear  and  leave  me  paralyzed  and 
idle.  It  is  always  well  to  look  into  the  future  just  far 
enough  to  guide  our  steps  and  prepare  for  any  imme- 
diate obstruction,  but  I  think  it  is  foolish,  if  not  worse, 
to  mourn  over  the  possible  future  when  the  present 
needs  all  our  watchfulness  and  strength.  My  physical 
self  is  like  the  days  of  September,  and  my  brain  and 
nerves  seem  '  dissected  up '  like  the  warp  on  the  loom, 
distinct  and  bare,  but  sensitive." 


128  LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

She  was  very  unwell,  dreading  a  fresh  attack 
of  diphtheria,  which  was  however  averted.  A  few 
days  later  she  writes  to  Mrs.  Carpenter  :  — 

PHILADELPHIA,  March  7th,  1886. 

DEAR  AUNT,  —  After  all  I  am  able  to  sit  down  at 
my  ease  and  write  to  my  dear  ones.  I  am  through 
the  studies  so  far  as  college  life  is  concerned,  but, 
oh  dear !  there  is  more  that  conies  after  than  goes 
before. 

Results  received  yesterday  and  I  am  passed.  I  am 
thankful,  for  my  patience  was  almost  worn  out.  On 
the  last  question  of  the  last  paper  I  broke  down,  and 
could  not  even  see  whether  I  finished  my  sentence. 
I  pinned  the  papers  together  and  left  the  room  with- 
out even  bowing  to  the  Professor.  Our  Japanese 
friend  did  very  well.  The  Syrian  student,  after  most 
wonderful  and  formidable  attacks  of  diseases  and 
rewarding  her  benefactors  and  well-wishers  with  her 
ingratitude,  was  made  to  leave  us.  Her  condition  is 
sadder  than  death,  if  death  is  at  all  sad.  She  brought 
tears  of  pity  to  my  eyes,  —  eyes  that  had  so  far  had 
no  occasion  to  shed  tears  of  such  pity  or  disgust.  We 
were  all  miserable  on  her  account. 

Pundita  Eamabai  arrived  safely.  The  storm  and 
low  water  detained  her  in  the  river.  I  spent  two 
full  days  on  the  wharf  waiting  for  her.  Her  child  is 
here,  a  little  darling.  She  is  as  bright  as  sunshine 
and  as  sweet  as  a  fresh  rosebud.  She  must  give  a 


LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI   JOSHEE.  129 

great  deal  of  comfort  to  her  mother,  who  has  passed 
through  too  many  sorrows  for  one  woman.  She  was 
brought  up  and  petted  by  sensitive  and  loving  hearts. 
She  is  a  woman,  tender  with  feeling,  as  tender  as  a 
flower,  timid  as  can  be  and  impatient  of  pain,  but  her 
courage  has  outweighed  that  of  the  sternest  and  brav- 
est warrior.  She  has  filled  my  heart  with  a  real  joy. 
I  hope  you  will  like  her  when  you  see  her.  I  began 
to  write  this  letter  yesterday,  but  so  much  else  came 
in  the  way !  I  went  to  my  Examination  at  the  Col- 
lege at  7.45  this  morning,  and  came  home  at  2.40  P.  M. 
The  examination  was  very  long  and  tedious,  though 
it  could  not  be  considered  hard.  I  did  not  have 
much  sleep  last  night  and  I  was  very  tired ;  am  so 
tired  I  can  hardly  keep  my  eyes  open  or  my  hand 
under  control.  I  am  so  glad  you  are  going  to  stay 
a  day  longer  for  the  lecture  of  Rama  Bai. 

This  letter  shows  how  evenly  balanced  were  all 
my  dear  friend's  faculties  and  powers.  Her  brain 
acted  only  in  the  service  of  her  heart. 

Mrs.  Carpenter  thinks  that  the  few  days  covered 
by  this  letter  were  the  most  trying  to  body  and 
brain  that  Anandabai  passed  in  this  country. 
The  exposure  on  the  wharf  was  a  very  serious 
thing  for  one  as  exhausted  as  she  was  by  the 
College  work;  but  her  heart  was  so  warm  that 
she  thought  far  less  of  the  result  for  which  she 


130  LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

had  toiled  so  earnestly  for  three  whole  years,  than 
of  welcoming  the  devoted  and  lovely  kinswoman 
whom  she  had  never  seen. 

She  had  never  seen  her,  but  this  was  by  no 
means  the  first  time  Anandabai  had  shown  her 
gifted  cousin  a  warm  sympathy  and  regard.  When 
Ramabai  was  left  a  widow,  and  the  Joshees  knew 
that  her  independent  and  vigorous  career  had  cre- 
ated an  opposition  likely  to  molest  her,  a  warm 
invitation  was  sent  by  Anandabai  offering  a  home 
in  her  own  house  to  the  desolate  widow.  Ramabai 
was  not  able  to  accept  the  invitation,  but  from 
that  time  the  strength  of  a  common  purpose  —  the 
determination  to  elevate  the  women  of  their  native 
land  —  sustained  the  correspondence  which  had 
then  begun. 

On  the' 10th  of  March,  1886, 1  went  to  Phila- 
delphia to  remain  a  day  or  two  with  Anandabai, 
to  make  the  acquaintance  of  the  Pundita,  and  to 
be  present  at  the  varied  exercises  of  the  week  I 
wrote  in  my  Journal  that  night :  — 

"I  have  seen  Anandabai,  Ramabai  and  her  child. 
Eamabai  is  strikingly  beautiful.  Her  face  is  a  clean- 
cut  oval ;  her  eyes,  dark  and  large,  glow  with  feeling. 
She  is  a  brunette,  but  her  cheeks  are  full  of  color. 
Her  white  widow's  saree  is  drawn  closely  over  her 
head  and  fastened  under  her  chin.  There  is  nothing 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  131 

else  about  her  to  suggest  the  Hindu.  I  cross-ques- 
tioned Anandabai  pretty  closely  about  a  possible  mix- 
ture of  blood.  She  acknowledged  that  there  is  a 
frequent  crossing  of  the  Mahratta  blood  by  that  of 
Cashmere." 

At  noon,  on  the  llth  of  March,  I  went  to  the 
Green  Room,  of  the  Academy  of  Music,  where  the 
Graduation  Exercises  were  to  be  held.  It  was  full 
of  bright  young  girls  and  flowers.  When  we  went 
out  upon  the  stage  we  confronted  an  audience  of 
three  thousand  persons. 

Anandabai,  the  Pundita  and  her  pretty  little 
child  were  seated  near  enough  to  the  front  of  the 
stage  to  be  distinctly  visible  to  the  audience.  It 
was  a  far  more  memorable  day  than  any  of  that 
audience  knew. 

Anandabai  and  her  kinswoman  had  sailed  from 
India  in  the  same  month:  Anandabai  from  Cal- 
cutta to  New  York;  Eamabai  from  Bombay  to 
the  sisters  at  Wantage  in  England,  where  she 
embraced  Christianity  in  1883. 

On  the  day  Anandabai  left  Liverpool  for  New 
York,  Ramabai  landed  in  England.  These  two 
women  were  cousins  three  times  removed,  but  the 
same  courage,  the  same  aspirations  animated  both. 
Ramabai  was  the  child  of  Ananta  Shastri  and  his 
second  wife,  Lakshmibai.  Ananta  had  determined 


132  LIFF  OF  ANANDABAJ  JOSHEE. 

to  educate  his  first  wife,  but  was  prevented  by  the 
bigotry  and  prejudice  of  his  family  and  her  own. 
She  died  early,  and,  when  the  same  obstacles  to 
education  presented  themselves  to  oppress  his 
second  wife,  Ananta  withdrew  from  the  world 
and  made  his  home  in  the  wilderness.  Eamabai 
was  the  youngest  of  his  children;  she  grew  up 
unfettered  in  the  outer  world.  It  is  touching  to 
hear  her  tell  how  her  mother  taught  her  Sanscrit 
in  the  early  morning  of  each  day,  waking  her  with 
caresses  and  making  her  very  lullabies  a  lesson 
in  language.  Ananta  spent  his  large  property 
before  Ramabai  was  grown,  and  spent  it  chiefly 
in  efforts  to  stimulate  the  education  of  Hindu 
women.  After  the  death  of  her  father,  she  and 
her  only  surviving  brother  travelled  through  the 
country,  advocating  their  father's  views.  At  Cal- 
cutta the  pundits  received  her.  A  Professor  tested 
her  knowledge  of  Sanscrit  and  the  honorary  title 
of  "  Sarasvati "  was  conferred  upon  her.  Sarasvati 
is  the  name  of  the  Goddess  of  Arts  and  Learning. 

Married  and  left  a  widow  with  one  child,  she 
determined  like  Anandabai  to  devote  her  life  to 
the  elevation  of  her  own  sex.  In  England,  she  be- 
came a  Christian.  When  I  asked  her  why  she  had 
allowed  herself  to  be  baptized  she  replied,  "  The 
Shasters  contain  all  the  principles  of  a  religious 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  133 

life,  but  they  offer  us  no  example  of  it.  In  Jesus 
I  have  the  word  made  flesh.  But  I  do  not  belong 
to  the  church  of  England  nor  to  any  other  church. 
I  told  them  it  must  be  so,  when  they  baptized  me. 
I  believe  in  the  Bible,  but  I  will  believe  in  it  in 
my  own  way." 

Before  her  departure  from  India,  Eamabai  had 
founded  a  society  in  Poonah  to  aid  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  native  schools  for  girls,  and  travelled 
throughout  the  Bombay  Presidency  to  form  branch 
societies.  When  the  English  Educational  Commis- 
sion visited  Poonah  in  September,  1882,  Eamabai 
met  them  in  the  town  hall,  with  more  than  three 
hundred  Mahratta  women  and  children,  and  wel- 
comed them  with  an  address  in  English.  So 
impressed  was  Dr.  Hunter,  the  President  of  that 
Commission,  with  the  earnestness  of  these  women, 
that  he  had  Ramabai's  testimony  before  it  trans- 
lated into  English.  Her  plea  for  the  medical  edu- 
cation of  the  native  women  gave  a  needed  impetus 
to  the  Countess  of  Du^ferin's  movement,  —  a  move- 
ment which  owed  much  more,  however,  to  the 
excitement  produced  in  India  by  Anandabai's 
address  at  Serampore  and  subsequent  departure 
for  America. 

At  Wantage,  Ramabai  perfected  her  knowledge 
of  the  English  language,  and  in  1884  she  went  to 


134  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

the  Ladies'  College  at  Cheltenham  as  Professor  of 
Sanscrit.  We  had  heard  much  of  these  two  women, 
and  now  they  sat.  modestly  before  the  immense 
audience  that  thronged  the  Academy.  How  differ- 
ent they  were  !  One  so  strikingly  beautiful  that 
she  arrested  every  eye,  the  other  self-absorbed,  un- 
conscious, with  her  gaze  fixed  upon  the  Highest. 
One  impulsive,  practical,  bent  on  carrying  out  cer- 
tain plans  for  the  benefit  of  her  people ;  the  other 
devout,  self-controlled,  thinking  first  of  all  of  the 
great  mysteries  of  life  and  work. 
I  quote  again  from  my  Journal :  — 

"Mrs.  Joshee  wore  a  pure  white  saree  richly  bor- 
dered with  gold.  Although  not  in  the  least  beautiful, 
she  is  the  sweetest  impersonation  of  pure  womanliness 
that  I  have  ever  seen.  All  eyes  were  on  her.  Ra- 
mabai,  who  wears  the  plain  white  '  Chudda '  of  the 
Mahratta  widow,  has  a  really  handsome  face,  a  deli- 
cate skin  flushed  with  brilliant  color.  She  and  her 
little  girl  look  like  Spaniards.  Neither  is  graceful, 
while  every  motion  of  Anandabai  gives  pleasure.  An 
immense  quantity  of  flowers  was  distributed  at  the 
close  of  Dr.  Marshall's  address,  and  Anandabai  had 
many  valuable  presents,  books,  instruments  and 
money,  to  help  her  carry  out  her  purposes.  She 
could  hardly  be  insensible  to  the  fact  that  she  was  the 
observed  of  all  observers ;  she  must  have  heard  the 


LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  135 

frequent  and  honorable  mention  of  her  name,  nor 
could  she  have  been  deaf  to  the  applause  of  that 
immense  audience  when  she  went  forward  to  take 
her  Diploma,  but  not  even  the  quiver  of  her  lips 
betrayed  her." 

There  was  not  a  vacant  seat  in  the  Academy 
when  the  exercises  began.  People  stood  against 
the  walls  and  under  the  galleries,  sat  upon  the 
steps,  and  filled  every  aisle  and  doorway.  The 
students  of  the  College  filled  the  front  seats  in 
the  pit,  and  the  Faculty  with  their  invited  guests 
crowded  the  stage. 

A  mass  of  flowers  in  baskets,  bouquets  and  va- 
ried designs,  covered  the  footlights  and  completely 
hid  the  piles  of  costly  gifts,  to  be  presented  by 
friends  of  the  students  to  the  graduates  after  the 
Diplomas  were  given  out. 

The  next  evening  Eamabai  gave  her  first  ad- 
dress in  America,  on  the  subject  which  fills  all  her 
thoughts.  For  an  hour  before  this  began,  we  re- 
ceived in  an  ante-room  about  eighty  ladies  of  the 
highest  social  position,  whom  Dr.  Bodley  wished 
to  introduce  to  her  Indian  friends.  The  audience 
in  the  Hall  itself  was  estimated  at  from  five  to 
six  hundred.  Eamabai  spoke  as  Anandabai  does, 
as  if  English  were  her  native  tongue,  but  there 
is  a  certain  piquancy  and  originality  in  all  that 


136  LITE  OF  ANANBABAI  JOSHEE. 

Anandabai  says,  not  to  be  found  elsewhere.  The 
audience  was  reverent,  struck  by  the  speaker's 
beauty  and  awed  by  her  enthusiasm  and  elo- 
quence. Never  shall  I  forget  the  hush  which  fol- 
lowed her  appeal  when,  after  clasping  her  hands 
in  silence  for  a  few  moments,  she  lifted  her  voice 
to  God  in  earnest  entreaty  for  her  countrywomen. 
The  whole  city  echoed  the  next  day  with  won- 
dering inquiry  and  explanation. 

A  day  or  two  after,  the  Joshees  and  the  Pundita 
were  received  by  the  Century  Club,  and  this  en- 
tertainment was  followed  by  invitations  of  many 
kinds  to  many  places  in  and  out  of  town. 

I  had  never  seen  Gopal  Joshee,  until  I  went  to 
Philadelphia,  on  this  memorable  week,  but  I  had 
heard  of  his  visit  to  my  own  house,  and  observed 
the  manner  in  which  he  bore  himself  toward  his 
wife's  best  friends.  During  this  visit  prolonged 
for  some  days,  after  Anandabai  had  taken  her 
diploma,  I  saw  less  of  her  than  I  desired,  I  was 
so  anxious  to  possess  myself  of  a  fair  and  candid 
opinion  of  this  strange  man.  After  the  first  cour- 
tesies when  we  met,  he  was  so  absolutely  silent 
for  some  days  in  my  presence,  that  my  friends 
thought  I  must  have  offended  him.  After  this, 
he  talked  very  freely  before  me  but  not  to  me, 
and  I  only  knew  that  he  was  conscious  of  my 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI   JOSHEE.  137 

existence,  by  the  readiness  with  which  he  aided 
me  when  I  wanted  copies  of  the  leading  papers 
or  any  special  information.  It  is  with  great  pain 
that  I  speak  of  him  for  Anandabai  loved  him, 
but  it  is  impossible  to  write  her  life  truly,  with- 
out suggesting  the  "tangle"  which  his  presence 
brought  into  her  daily  life. 

Anandabai  had  been  most  generously  and  deli- 
cately aided  by  the  ladies  of  Philadelphia,  and 
this  aid  it  was  easy  for  them  to  render  because 
she  accepted  it  for  her  people  and  her  work. 
While  awaiting  her  husband's  coming,  she  had 
no  idea,  that  instead  of  asking  for  a  few  months' 
leave,  he  would  be  obliged  to  throw  up  the  work 
by  which  they  had  hitherto  lived.  When  I  asked 
her  why  he  had  done  so,  she  said  briefly  and  with 
a  deep  sigh  "  He  is  tired,"  but  would  not  pursue 
the  subject.  After  his  coming,  he  shared  the  gen- 
erous and  provident  kindness  which  had  been 
extended  to  her,  but  he  received  it  differently 
and  she  knew  it. 

In  Dr.  Bodley's  Preface  to  the  "High  Caste 
Hindu  Woman,"  a  book  written  by  Eamabai,  she 
says  of  Dr.  Joshee,  — 

"  Kamabai's  chapter  on  the  married  life  of  the  Hindu 
woman  reveals  to  the  Western  Reader  what  it  was  for 
this  refined,  intellectual  person,  whose  faculties  devel- 


138  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

oped  rapidly  under  Western  opportunities,  and  whose 
scientific  acquirements  placed  her  high  in  rank  among 
her  peers  in  the  college  class,  to  accept  again  the  posi- 
tion awarded  her  by  the  Code  of  Manu.  That  she 
did  accept  it,  that  'until  death  she  was  patient  of 
hardships,  self-controlled,  and  strove  to  fulfil  that  most 
excellent  duty  prescribed  for  wives,'  is  undoubted. 
Let  those  who  recognize  this  herculean  attempt  find 
in  it  a  clue  to  the  influences  which  dealt  the  final 
fatal  blow." 

In  a  letter  written  by  Gopal  to  one  of  his 
friends  in  this  country,  during  the  distracted  days 
that  followed  his  wife's  death  in  Poonah,  he  says, 
"  I  wonder  if  she  would  not  be  living  still,  if  I  had 
never  gone  to  America  ? " 

Strange  that  he  should  have  written  this,  and 
stranger  still  would  he  have  deemed  it,  had  he 
known  that  the  one  thought  that  rang  through  my 
brain,  as  we  sat  together  day  after  day  in  Phila- 
delphia was  this :  "  He  will  make  life  impossible 
to  her." 

This  year  presented  peculiar  causes  for  anxiety, 
and  for  Mr.  Joshee's  excitability,  dissatisfaction 
and  restlessness  there  is  some  excuse  to  be  found 
in  the  condition  of  his  wife's  health,  and  the  im- 
possibility of  tempting  her  appetite  with  suitable 
food  wherever  she  might  be.  Gopal  had  entered 


LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  139 

the  United  States  by  the  wrong  gate.  The  rest- 
less life  of  the  West,  the  disorganizations  of  the 
border,  did  not  give  him  the  key  he  needed  to 
understand  the  Eastern  States.  He  saw  very 
little,  but  thought  he  saw  everything.  This  how- 
ever he  did  perceive,  that  Anandabai's  health  was 
failing,  and  unable  to  aid  her  himself,  half  frantic 
with  affection  and  anxiety,  he  required  of  us  all 
what  it  was  impossible  to  give.  Little  did  he 
know  that  it  was  chiefly  owing  to  Dr.  Bodley's 
tender  foresight,  that  his  wife  was  still  living.  To 
provide  her  with  an  abundance  of  nutritious  vege- 
table food  was  often  impossible,  and  there  was  not 
a  physician  anywhere  who  would  not  have  said 
she  needed  broth  and  delicate  meats;  but  these 
she  could  not  take. 

It  was  probably  in  one  of  the  fits  of  irritation 
produced  by  circumstances  that  he  had  not  been 
in  the  country  long  enough  to  understand,  that 
Gopal  wrote  a  letter  to  "  The  Index,"  on  the  14th 
of  March,  1886.  This  letter  concerned  "child 
marriage,"  a  subject  brought  into  most  unhappy 
prominence  by  the  discussion  of  the  story  of 
Rukhmabai,  a  young  Brahmin  lady  who,  betrothed 
to  a  worthless  and  aged  husband  in  childhood, 
refused  to  consummate  the  abominable  contract, 
and  was  sent  to  prison  in  consequence.  Gopal's 


140  UFB  OF  ASANDABAI  JOSHEE, 

letter  insanely  denies  the  plain  facts  of  this  case, 
with  which  all  Europe  was  already  familiar.  In 
it  he  makes  assertions  which  he  knew  were  not 
true,  and  assumes  a  position  in  regard  to  the 
American  people  which  must  have  given  sharp 
pain  to  his  gentle  wife.  "While  arrogance  and 
assumption  breathe  in  every  line  of  his  letter,  he 
coolly  demands  that  Americans  shall  "say  no 
word  against  his  country !  *  All  this  was  written 
at  a  moment  when  he  listened  daily  to  the  sad 
exposition  which  Kamabai  was  offering  to  the 
public. 

Any  one  who  will  turn  to  °  The  Index  "  for  April 
1st,  1886,  will  be  astonished  at  the  forbearance  of 
its  Editor.  In  an  article  published  by  Max  Muller 
in  the  London  Times  of  Aug.  22nd,  1887,  the  in- 
terested reader  may  prove  to  himself  how  utterly 
unreliable  were  Mr.  Joshee's  statements. 

Whoever  had  walked  the  streets  of  Philadel- 
phia in  modest  peace  with  Anandabai,  could  not 
fail  to  find  a  difference  when  Gopal  was  added  to 
the  party. 

His  excited  manner,  his  loud  and  rapid  talk 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  crowd,  and  this  was 
held  by  the  floating  blue  wrap,  the  white  scar£ 
and  dark  turban  which  he  always  wore. 

About  this  time  the  beautiful  dress  worn  by 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  141 

Anandabai  on  the  day  of  her  graduation  became 
the  theme  of  public  discussion,  and  as  it  was 
necessary  to  correct  various  errors  concerning 
it,  the  following  account  was  sent  to  the  local 
papers :  — 

"  The  friends  of  Dr.  Anandabai  Joshee  who  are 
accustomed  to  associate  a  simple  and  childlike  sin- 
cerity with  everything  relating  to  her,  were  at  first 
amused  and  then  a  little  pained,  when  several  of  the 
daily  papers  spoke  of  her  receiving  her  degree  in  a 
robe  '  trimmed  with  tinsel ! ' 

"There  was  no  more  ' tinsel'  on  her  robe  than 
there  is  hi  her  character.  The  snowy  gold-bordered 
dress  she  wore,  was  part  of  her  wedding  outfit,  made 
to  her  father's  order.  It  was  made  in  the  old  city  of 
Chunder,  famous  through  many  centuries  for  the  pro- 
duction of  the  finest  hand-made  India  mulL  This 
long  narrow  garment  is  the  usual  saree  or  upper  gar- 
ment of  the  Mahratta  women,  but  Anandabai  does 
not  wear  it  in  the  usual  way.  The  Pundits  found  the 
fashion  among  the  dresses  worn  by  her  ancestors  when 
they  dwelt  on  snow-covered  hills.  This  garment  is 
made  of  a  kind  of  India  muslin  called  'chally.' 

"  This  word,  like  our  word  '  shawl,'  is  derived  from 
the  name  of  King  Shawliwan,  in  whose  reign  and  at 
whose  desire  shawls  were  first  made  eighteen  hundred 
years  ago. 

"  This  muslin  saree  is  four  yards  long  and  two  and 


142  LIFE  OF   ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

a  half  wide.  The  gold  border  is  four  inches  wide 
round  the  bottom,  and  more  than  nine  up  and  down 
the  front.  Beside  the  wide  stripe  there  are  two  nar- 
row ones;  and  these  borders  are  not  even  made  of 
gold  thread,  but  of  flat  drawn  gold  so  pure  that  it 
washes  like  a  gold  ring.  This  border  is  so  very  heavy 
that  no  machine-made  goods  would  hold  it.  It  is 
equally  perfect  and  beautiful  on  the  two  sides.  No 
one  who  has  seen  the  saree  daintily  worn  can  fail  to 
be  charmed  with  it,  and  I  need  hardly  point  out  to 
those  who  have  seen  the  Tauagra  statuettes,  that  in 
many  cases  it  is  the  saree  which  imparts  the  peculiar 
charm  to  the  Greek  figurine." 

Probably  nothing  in  her  life  was  so  trying  to 
Dr.  Joshee  as  the  round  of  visits  which  now 
began  in  her  husband's  company.  She  could  not 
escape  from  the  group  of  friends  who  listened 
while  he  poured  out  in  his  rapid  impulsive  way 
his  bitter  complaint  against  the  country  and  peo- 
ple which  she  so  dearly  loved.  Alone  I  had 
known  her  more  than  once  to  interpose  her  gentle 
word,  but  before  others  her  duty  as  a  Hindu 
wife  forbade  her  to  speak.  Her  silence  seemed 
to  strangers  like  sullenness.  Gopal  had  been  ac- 
customed to  this  in  her  younger  days,  and  it  did 
not  affect  him  as  it  did  those  who  had  seen 
her  in  her  happy  freedom  before  his  arrival  It 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  143 

had  one  serious  result,  however;  those  who  saw 
her  for  the  first  time  after  her  husband  reached 
Philadelphia,  especially  those  who  met  her  first 
in  Massachusetts,  never  saw  the  delightful  and 
fascinating  woman  so  beloved  by  her  friends  in 
Philadelphia. 

On  the  16th  of  April  Dr.  Joshee  left  Eoselle 
for  Philadelphia,  intending  to  be  examined  for 
Blockley  Hospital  She  expected  to  pass  the 
summer  at  the  "  New  England  Hospital  for  Wo- 
men and  Children,"  and  to  enter  Blockley  for 
practice  the  following  winter. 

But  her  plans  were  very  suddenly  changed. 
Dr.  Bodley  had  been  asked  to  supply  a  resident 
physician  to  the  female  wards  of  the  new  Albert 
Edward  Hospital  at  Kolhapur,  and  about  this 
time  the  following  letter  was  received :  •— 

To  DR.  RACHEL  BODLEY, 

Woman's  Medical  College,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

KOLHAPUR,  March  10th,  1886. 

DEAR  MADAM,  —  I  beg  you  will  kindly  excuse  me 
for  not  replying  to  your  letter  of  Nov.  25th  before. 
After  I  wrote  you  my  first  letter,  the  fact  that  Dr. 
Anandabai  Joshee  would  appear  for  her  final  exami- 
nation at  your  College  in  the  current  month,  was 
brought  to  my  notice  by  the  Hon.  Rao  Bahadur 


144  LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE, 

M.  G.  Ranade.  Thinking  that  nothing  could  be  more 
desirable  than  to  have  a  native  of  India  for  our  "  Lady 
Doctor,"  I  placed  myself  at  once  in  communication 
with  my  friend,  that  he  might  ascertain  from  Mrs. 
Joshee  whether  she  would  accept  the  appointment 
alluded  to.  I  hear  that  she  is  willing. 

I  beg  therefore  that  you  will  do  me  the  favor  to 
offer  the  place  to  Mrs.  Joshee  on  the  following  terms. 

1.  Mrs.  Joshee's  designation  to  be  Lady  Doctor  of 
Kolhapur. 

2.  Her  salary  per  month  to  be  Es.  300  at  first,  to 
be  increased  to  400  after  two  years'  service,  and  to 
500  after  five  years'. 

3.  A  house  for  habitation  with   ordinary  furniture 
to  be  provided,   but  this  not  to  include   service  or 
board. 

4.  The  expenses  of  a  single  passage  from  the  United 
States  to  India  will  be  borne  by  the  State  of  Kolhapur, 
on  condition  that  this  be  refunded  in  the  event  of 
Mrs.  Joshee's  leaving  the  service   in  less  than   one 
year. 

5.  The  engagement   shall  be  for  seven  years,  but 
may  be  terminated  by   either  party  on  giving  six 
months'  notice. 

6.  Mrs.   Joshee   will  be   in  charge  of  the  Albert 
Edward  Hospital,  subject  to  the  general  supervision 
of  the  Durbar  Doctor,  and  instruct  a  class  of  girls  in 
medicine,  etc. 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  145 

7.  Private  practice  will  be  allowed  to  any  extent 
that  will  not  interfere  with  public  duties,  but  no  fees 
are  to  be  charged  for  attending  on  the  ladies  of  the 
palace,  or  on  the  wives  of  contributors  to  the  Hospital 
Funds. 

I  assure  you  that  the  supervision  of  the  Durbar 
Doctor  will  be  friendly.  I  feel  sure  that  Doctor  Sin- 
clair, our  Durbar  Surgeon,  and  Doctor  Joshee  will 
pull  well  together. 

Mrs.  Joshee  seems  to  think  that  we  mean  our  pu- 
pils to  be  nurses  only.  Our  object  is  much  higher,  — 
to  enable  them  to  be  general  practitioners. 

When  the  Bombay  scheme  for  Female  Medical 
Education,  which  has  been  taken  in  hand  by  Lady 
Reay,  the  wife  of  our  Governor,  has  been  perfected, 
it  is  our  intention  to  have  the  Kolhapur  Establishment 
affiliated  to  the  Central  College.  Close  to  Mrs.  Joshee's 
quarters  will  be  provided  quarters  for  the  pupils,  that 
they  may  be  under  her  constant  supervision. 

In  conclusion,  I  have  to  request  that  you  will  com- 
municate the  wishes  of  Mrs.  Joshee  by  the  return 
mail.  If  she  accepts,  I  shall  want  a  letter  from  her 
to  that  effect,  stating  also  whether  she  can  be  at  the 
Hospital  by  the  first  of  June. 

Thanking  you  heartily  for  your  prompt  reply  to 
my  first  letter  and  for  your  offer  of  assistance, 
I  remain  yours  sincerely, 

MEHERJE  COOVEBJB, 

The  Dewan  of  Kolhapur. 
10 


146  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

I  am  sorry  to  say  that  I  have  no  copy  of  Dr. 
Joshee's  reply  to  this  letter,  which  was  written  on 
the  18th  of  April,  but  one  remarkable  sentence 
in  it  is  impressed  upon  my  memory. 

After  a  cordial  acceptance  of  the  appointment 
Anandabai  went  on  to  say :  — 

"There  is  nothing  in  the  seven  conditions  which 
you  name,  that  causes  me  any  uneasiness,  but  if  any 
question  were  likely  to  arise  under  it,  I  might  object 
to  the  seventh. 

"  Our  Shasters  require  us  to  impart  the  gifts  of 
healing  and  of  religious  truth  without  pay,  and  to 
this  practice  I  shall  adhere ;  but  if  I  ever  meant  to 
take  a  fee  from  any  one,  it  would  assuredly  be  from 
those  who  are  rich  and  powerful,  and  never  from  those 
who  are  poor  and  depressed." 

On  the  12th  of  June,  1886,  the  Dewan  of  Kol- 
hapur,  an  officer  of  the  government  correspond- 
ing to  our  Secretary  of  State,  acknowledged  Dr. 
Joshee's  acceptance  of  the  position  in  the  Albert 
Edward  Hospital,  and  consented  to  allow  her  to 
spend  the  summer  in  Eoxbury  as  she  desired. 

She  intended  to  sail  in  January,  1887. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  I  began  to  feel  very 
anxious  about  Anandabai's  health.  The  climate 
of  the  United  States  at  its  best  seems  fatal  to 
the  Asiatic.  The  Aleut  fares  no  better  than  the 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  147 

Hindu  on  these  shores,  and  when  disease  attacks 
either,  it  is  astonishing  how  quickly  the  end 
comes.  The  climate  of  Cutch  and  of  Calcutta 
had  been  very  injurious  to  Dr.  Joshee's  health,  and 
she  was  depressed  by  unnatural  lassitude  when  she 
reached  Philadelphia.  The  home  of  her  dearest 
friend,  which  speedily  became  her  home  also,  was 
in  Roselle,  in  a  part  of  New  Jersey  subject  to 
malarial  and  depressing  influences.  If  we  had 
had  an  examination  in  1883,  the  lesson  of  her  life 
would  have  been  lost.  The  one  thing  that  might 
have  saved  her  was  a  long  and  steady  residence  in 
Colorado  or  New  Mexico,  with  a  light  heart.  It 
was  because  she  was  so  happy  the  first  two  years 
that  we  were  deceived  as  to  her  health.  As  soon 
as  she  had  accepted  the  position  at  Kolhapur,  her 
whole  future  weighed  upon  her.  Assuming  by 
virtue  of  her  larger  earnings  the  duties  of  the  head 
of  her  family,  she  had  to  look  forward,  not  only  to 
supporting  herself  and  performing  her  duties  at  the 
Hospital,  but  upon  her  would  fall  the  care  of  her 
husband's  mother  and  younger  brothers.  Her  first 
duty  on  her  return  would  be  to  go  to  Nassik, 
where  they  resided,  and  complete  arrangements  for 
their  removal  to  Kolhapur.  At  this  time  she  sup- 
posed she  should  be  well  enough  to  go  to  India 
alone,  and  it  was  thought  that  Mr.  Joshee  might 


148  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

remain  for  some  time  in  England  and  America.  I 
have  said  that  she  was  to  have  the  care  of  her  hus- 
band's family,  but  what  sort  of  influence  were  they 
to  exert  over  her?  She  had  said,  "I  will  go  to 
America  as  a  Hindu,  and  I  will  remain  a  Hindu. 
I  will  be  in  all  things  his  deserving  wife."  What 
says  the  Shaster  ? 

"  For  the  ancient  sages  declare  that  a  bride  is  given 
to  the  family  of  her  husband  and  not  to  her  husband 
alone."  (Apastamba,  2nd,  10th,  27tb,  3d.) 

And  again  in  the  IXth  of  Manu,  22nd,  we  read : 

"  Whatever  be  the  qualities  of  the  man  with  whom 
a  woman  is  united  in  lawful  marriage,  such  qualities 
she  must  assume,  as  a  river  mingles  with  the  ocean." 

Could  she  indeed  remain  his  "  deserving  wife  "  ? 
Was  this  any  longer  possible  to  her?  No  word 
escaped  her  lips.  Obediently  she  stooped  to  lift 
her  heavy  burden ;  but  those  who  loved  her,  felt 
her  heart  sinking,  although  her  words  were  the 
words  of  cheerful  courage. 

To  the  New  England  Hospital  she  went  as  an 
invited  guest  on  the  2nd  of  May.  She  would 
have  "ample  opportunity,"  she  was  told,  "to  visit 
other  infirmaries  and  asylums  not  unfriendly 
to  women."  Such  an  arrangement,  it  was  said, 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  149 

"would  give  no  opportunity  for  the  care  and 
responsibility  devolving  upon  an  interne,  but 
would  give  her  the  chance  to  see  a  great  variety 
of  work." 

What  she  actually  encountered  the  following 
letter  will  show.  It  was  something  wholly  un- 
suited  to  the  delicate  condition  which  her  friends 
hardly  suspected,  and  of  which  the  authorities  at 
the  Hospital  could  not  be  awara 

ROXBURY,  May  3d,  1886. 

MY  DEAR  AUNT,  —  I  reached  here  last  evening  at 
about  7  o'clock.  Two  of  my  college  friends  came 
very  kindly  to  meet  me,  so  that  made  it  pleasant  all 
through.  I  have  already  taken  charge  of  the  medical 
ward  here.  I  went  to  the  Maternity  to  see  a  case,  soon 
after  I  arrived,  before  supper.  This  morning  at  seven 
I  visited  the  medical  ward.  At  8.30  I  went  with 
another  Interne  to  the  Surgical.  I  paid  another  visit 
at  12.30  with  Dr.  P.  This  is  one  of  the  regular 
visits. 

I  have  to  visit  my  own  ward  again  this  evening,  so 
you  see  how  busy  I  am !  I  have  to  make  three  regular 
visits  beside  that  with  Dr.  P.  to  all  the  Hospital,  after 
which  the  consulting  physician,  resident  physician 
and  the  Internes  meet  in  the  office  to  discuss  the 
cases.  My  sleeping-room  is  on  the  third  floor,  dining- 
room  on  the  lowest,  patients  all  over.  I  have  to  fill 


150  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

up  the  papers  that  belong  to  my  own  patients.     This 
is  the  first  time  I  have  eat  down.    I  am  so  tired ! 

The  spot  in  which  the  Hospital  stands  is  one  of 
the  most  delightful  that  I  have  seen.  It  is  perfectly 
charming.  It  was  so  cold  in  the  house,  that  I  came 
out  on  the  lawn  to  write.  It  is  very  sunny,  but  very- 
windy,  so  I  don't  think  I  shall  stay  long. 

When  I  read  those  words,  I  thought  I  knew 
when  the  final  blow  was  struck.  "Was  there  no 
one  to  warn  her  ?  Exhausted,  chilled,  she  needed 
as  much  warmth  as  a  tropical  bird,  and  she  went 
out  of  doors  to  write  on  the  3d  of  May,  in  a 
Boston  east  wind !  She  goes  on  :  — 

Will  you  please  give  the  Eoorhacks  my  address, 
and  tell  them  not  to  send  me  the  knife  for  wood 
carving  or  anything  else.  I  have  to  be  moving  from 
room  to  room  and  place  to  place,  and  have  no  time 
for  anything.  After  all,  I  have  regular  duty  to  per- 
form. One  of  my  college  friends  has  left  the  Hospital 
entirely,  the  other  is  miles  off  in  the  Dispensary. 

You  will  be  sorry  to  hear  that  I  have  such  a  cold 
in  my  throat  that  I  cannot  talk,  only  whisper.  There 
is  measles  in  the  Annex,  so  one  Interne  must  stay 
there.  Two  others  have  left.  Dr.  Hall  is  here,  but 
Dr.  Sterling  has  not  yet  come.  With  love,  your 

ANANDABAI. 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  151 

The  letters  that  followed  recorded  days  equally 
crowded  with  work,  although  occasionally  varied 
with  pleasant  change.  She  went  to  a  tea  at  the 
"Woman's  Club,  to  the  Woman's  Industrial  Union, 
and  took  many  drives  with  Dr.  Keller  to  see 
some  of  her  most  interesting  surgical  cases. 
Writing  of  Boston,  she  says,  "  I  am  so  impressed 
with  the  beauty  of  Boston !  I  am  ready  to  say  it 
is  the  prettiest  place  I  have  seen  in  America." 
No  one  seems  to  have  seen  how  ill  she  was,  and 
oh,  I  know  without  asking,  that  through  all  this 
time  no  one  saw  the  real  Anandabai !  It  must 
have  been  in  the  early  part  of  her  stay  that  she 
received  a  visit  from  Mrs.  Underwood.  Mrs. 
Underwood  went  to  invite  her  to  deliver  an 
address  at  the  coining  anniversary  of  the  Free 
Religious  Association,  in  which  she  should  explain 
her  own  position  and  the  needs  of  women  in 
India.  "There  entered,"  writes  Mrs.  Underwood, 
"a  graceful,  childlike  creature,  the  lustrous  eyes 
of  whose  dark  grave  face  sought  those  of  her 
visitor  in  quiet  scrutiny."  Dr.  Joshee  declined 
this  invitation  on  the  ground  of  her  duties  at 
the  Hospital. 

My  mind  had  been  a  little  withdrawn  from  her 
at  this  time  by  changes  in  my  own  life.  I  did 
not  hear  from  my  friend  as  I  expected,  till 


152  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

on  the  first  of  June  Mr.  Joshee  wrote  to  Mrs. 
Carpenter  that  his  wife  had  decided  to  give  up 
her  studies  at  the  Hospital,  and  see  if  perfect 
rest  would  not  prepare  her  for  her  duties  at  Kol- 
hapur.  I  was  hurrying  North  at  the  moment, 
and  reached  the  Hospital  on  the  morning  of 
June  5th,  only  to  be  shocked  at  the  announce- 
ment that  Mrs.  Joshee  was  confined  to  her  room. 
I  found  her  lying  in  bed,  pale  and  quiet.  As  we 
sat  hand  in  hand  looking  into  each  other's  eyes 
for  a  long  while,  I  thought  with  satisfaction  how 
lately  she  had  said,  "I  have  no  need  of  words. 
I  know  what  my  friends  think  without  words." 
There  were  many  questions  that  I  wished  to  ask, 
but  she  was  in  no  condition  to  talk.  To  my  sur- 
prise, she  did  not  seem  anxious  about  herself, 
but  was  incommoded  by  some  internal  difficulty 
brought  on  by  the  constant  going  up  and  down 
stairs,  which  the  Hospital  Service  required.  What 
little  talk  we  had  was  about  Eamabai  and  her 
plans.  Dr.  Joshee  was  expecting  to  work  with 
her  in  India.  She  was  grieved  to  give  up  her 
Hospital  Work,  but  intended  to  go  that  afternoon 
to  visit  Dr.  Keller,  and  from  thence  by  short 
stages,  making  visits  at  Providence  and  Hartford, 
to  Eoselle.  I  think  she  was  not  able  to  move 
till  the  9th  of  June,  and  it  was  perhaps  while  she 


UPE  OP  AHAKDABAI  JOSHEE.  153 

was  resting  peacefully  at  Dr.  Keller's  that  she 
rallied  enough  to  go  to  Mrs.  Underwood  for  an 
evening,  and  meet  a  few  friends. 

Of  this  meeting  Mrs.  Underwood  wrote  as 
follows:  — 

"She  wore  no  bonnet,  but  instead  a  fawn-colored 
wrap  enveloped  her  finely  shaped  bead  and  gracefully 
draped  her  shoulders;  this  was  removed  on  catering, 
'Her  robe  of  some  fine  dark  woollen  material  was 
edged  to  the  depth  of  several  inches  with  gold-colored 
embroidery,  and  in  spite  of  its  flowing  drapery  at  one 
arm,  fitted  nicely  her  plump  petite  form ;  gold  brace- 
lets adorned  her  wrists.  The  dark  face  was  round, 
with  full  lips;  she  had  a  handsomely  shaped  brow, 
broad  and  intellectual  looking.  Between  the  eyebrows 
was  a  small  tattooed  mark,  in  shape  somewhat  like  a 
cross.  The  eyes  were  beautiful  and  expressive,  large, 
black,  softly  shining,  as  capable  of  smiles  as  of  tears, 
with  a  strangely  pathetic  look  in  them.  The  prevail- 
ing expression  of  Dr.  Josbee's  face  was  grave,  dignified, 
almost  sad,  but  the  rare  smile  which  marked  her 
appreciation  of  the  ludicrous  was  charmingly  bright 
and  girlish.  The  talk  drifted  during  the  evening  into 
channels  which  in  spite  of  her  modest  diffidence  drew 
her  out, 

"The  car  of  Juggernaut  was  discussed,  and  in  speak- 
ing of  the  mothers  who  distraught  with  poverty  some- 
times throw  their  babes  into  the  Ganges,  Dr.  Joshee 


154       LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

said  that  during  her  medical  experience  in  Philadel- 
phia a  large  number  of  new-born  infants,  either  mur- 
dered or  deserted,  found  their  way  into  the  dissecting- 
room,  and  she  might  as  well  on  her  return  to  India 
relate  this  fact,  making  it  a  custom  of  American  moth- 
ers to  kill  or  desert  their  children,  and  adducing  it 
as  a  result  of  Christian  belief,  as  to  charge  the  Hindu 
faith  with  the  drowning  so  often  reported. 

"In  discussing  the  right  of  men  to  kill  and  eat 
animals,  Dr.  Joshee  said  that  she  had  lived  in  America 
for  three  years  without  feeling  the  need  of  any  other 
food  than  that  she  ate  in  India.  In  speaking  of 
Edwin  Arnold's  Poems,  by  which  she  meant  the 
*  Song  Celestial '  and  '  Indian  Idylls '  she  said  he  had 
not,  exaggerated  but  had  sometimes  failed  to  catch  the 
subtle  spiritual  meanings  of  the  ancient  writings." 

Of  the  "  Light  of  Asia,"  a  Buddhist  poem,  her 
judgment  would  probably  have  been  different. 
The  King  of  Siam,  in  writing  to  the  author  to  con- 
fer upon  him  the  "  Order  of  the  White  Elephant," 
says,  "  I  can  see  that  some  of  your  ideas  are  not 
the  same  as  ours  ; "  and  when  Mr.  Arnold  visited 
Ceylon,  the  Chief  Priest  said  to  him,  "  The  reason 
that  we  wish  to  honour  you  is  because  you  have 
helped  to  make  Buddhists  know  how  much  they 
ought  to  do  and  be  to  rise  to  the  level  of  their  own 
religion." 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI   JOSHEE.  155 

"  She  spoke  sensibly  of  '  Christian  Science,'  said  she 
had  taken  several  lessons  in  that  art  of  healing,  and 
thought  she  saw  a  natural  basis  on  which  it  could  be 
explained.  She  spoke  of  phrenology,  and  said  that  in 
dissecting  the  brain  she  had  found  reason  to  dispute 
the  claims  made  by  its  enthusiastic  advocates. 

"  Her  acquaintance  with  American  and  English 
scientists  and  persons  of  note  was  something  phe- 
nomenal. As  she  glanced  over  a  large  collection  of 
portrait  photographs,  a  word  or  two  would  show  that 
she  was  familiar  with  the  story  of  each  man  and  his 
work." 

The  friends  of  Anandabai  are  grateful  for  the 
brief  record  here  preserved.  There  is  no  adequate 
representation  of  her  varied  and  stimulating  con- 
versation. In  reference  to  what  she  said  of  diet, 
she  was  doubtless  glad  to  reinforce  her  husband's 
opinion ;  but  I  think  it  certain  that  if  she  could 
have  taken  animal  food,  or  at  least  broths,  her 
chance  of  life  in  this  climate  would  have  been 
greater. 

It  was  only  a  few  days  before  I  saw  Anandabai, 
that  at  the  meeting  of  the  Free  Eeligious  Asso- 
ciation in  Boston,  during  the  last  week  in  May, 
Gopal  Vinyak  Joshee  had  delivered  an  address 
which  must  deeply  have  pained  her.  In  this 
address  he  asserted  that  "  Christianity  lacks  every 


156  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI   JOSHEE. 

noble  attribute;  that  we  are  told  we  must  be- 
lieve as  the  Christians  do,  or  be  immediately 
damned ;  that  this  is  not  done  by  one  sect  but 
by  all,  including  the  broad  Unitarian."  He 
charged  further  that  Christianity  lacked  justice, 
righteousness,  and  humanity;  that  charity  was  ab- 
sent through  the  length  and  breadth  of  Christen- 
dom; that  Moses  and  Jesus  imposed  upon  the 
credulity  of  their  followers ;  and  he  sustained  these 
statements  by  arguments  as  incoherent  as  they 
were  absurd.  Had  they  been  those  of  a  bewil- 
dered American,  no  one  would  have  thought  of 
them  twice,  but  as  the  first  definite  expression 
known  to  the  audience  of  Hindu  thought,  they 
had  a  certain  interest.  Anandabai  was  of  course 
busied  with  her  duties  at  the  Hospital,  but  she 
who  had  no  "need  of  words"  could  not  fail  to 
know  in  what  mood  her  husband  went  to  that 
meeting,  and  to  suffer  for  it.  No  one  knew  bet- 
ter than  he  in  his  saner  moods  that  to  be  true 
his  statements  needed  modifications  that  he  did 
not  give,  and  that  it  was  the  same  human  frailty 
that  made  his  own  country  people  worship  idols, 
and  not  Christianity,  that  should  be  made  to  an- 
swer for  the  failures  of  the  church.  Now  that 
we  know  that  Anandabai  was  never  to  devote  a 
life-time  to  medical  work,  it  is  impossible  not  to 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAJ  JOSHEE.  157 

wish  that  she  had  left  the  operating-room  that 
day,  and  carried  her  own  message  to  that  meeting. 
How  tenderly  and  with  what  true  appreciation 
would  she  have  spoken  of  her  own  indebtedness 
to  Christian  charity,  justice,  and  sympathy.  "  I 
am  not  a  Christian  because  I  have  no  need  to 
be  one,"  she  would  have  said ;  "  but  it  is  through 
Jesus  that  God  has  spoken  to  you.  If  I  do  not 
need  your  Bible,  neither  do  you  need  my  Shasters." 
While  she  was  in  Philadelphia  she  had  be- 
come acquainted  with  the  Eev.  Charles  G.  Ames. 
Between  him  and  her  there  was  no  "  need  of 
words."  She  entered  into  his  spirit,  and  it  was 
her  greatest  delight  to  listen  to  his  preaching  in 
Spring  Garden  Street. 

u  She  was  often  at  the  church,"  writes  Mr.  Ames, 
"and  showed  her  interest  by  lingering  long  at  the 
close,  and  accepting  with  sweet  and  gracious  silence, 
and  hand  pressure,  all  the  greetings  of  the  people. 
It  was  not  customary  for  her  to  initiate  conversation, 
but  once  engaged,  she  talked  remarkably  well,  and 
generally  on  serious  subjects.  She  was  a  guileless 
and  genuine  person  who  knew  her  own  mind  and 
saw  clearly  '  the  path.'  Her  capacity  for  self-direction, 
coupled  with  rare  and  generous  justice,  promised  a 
career  of  great  usefulness  in  her  native  land,  where, 
alas  !  her  countrywomen  will  never  know  their  loss." 


158  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

It  was  one  of  the  great  disappointments  of  her 
brief  stay  in  Boston  that  she  had  no  opportu- 
nity to  make  the  acquaintance  of  James  Freeman 
Clarke.  She  had  read  his  books  and  liked  them. 
If  she  had  been  well,  she  would  have  gone  to  see 
him.  She  did  not  like  to  return  to  India  without 
meeting  him. 

Her  disappointment  in  connection  with  the 
work  at  the  Hospital  was  much  greater  than  she 
ever  acknowledged.  She  had  the  highest  opinion 
of  its  administration. 

I  went  from  Boston  to  Concord  early  in  July. 
I  heard  there  of  the  address  delivered  by  Gopal 
one  day  in  June  at  Mr.  Chamberlain's,  regarding 
missionary  life  in  India.  This  address  was  writ- 
ten out  for  the  "  Index  "  of  July  22d,  1886.  Can 
any  one  who  reads  it  believe  it  to  be  the  pro- 
duction of  a  sane  man,  provided  that  man  be,  as 
Gopal  Joshee  undoubtedly  was,  both  cultivated 
and  intelligent  ? 

Forgetting  what  he  had  said  at  the  Free  Ee- 
ligious  meeting  in  May,  he  said  here,  "I  do  not 
speak  against  Christ  and  his  teachings,  but  I  find 
his  followers  unworthy  of  the  name;"  and  goes 
on:  "I  have  been  with  missionaries  for  the  last 
twenty-two  years.  The  more  I  look  into  their 
characters,  the  darker  is  the  dye  that  stains 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  159 

them."  "Christians  have  manufactured  all  the 
vices,  and  exported  them  to  countries  where  sim- 
plicity and  innocence  reigned,"  —  and  to  confirm 
his  charges  against  the  missionaries,  he  would 
have  us  believe  that  in  travelling  to  this  country 
with  his  wife,  some  of  them  put  meat  into  her 
plate,  to  force  her  through  hunger  to  break  the 
requirements  of  her  caste ! 

If  all  the  rest  of  the  world  had  reason  to  com- 
plain of  the  church,  what  right  had  Gopal  Joshee 
to  make  such  complaint  ?  It  was  a  missionary  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  who  came  to  his  aid  and 
forwarded  his  letters  to  Dr.  Wilder,  when  he  first 
desired  to  send  his  wife  to  America.  It  was  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Thorburn,  missionaries  at  Calcutta,  who 
watched  over  her  and  protected  her,  when  with 
insane  precipitation  her  husband  would  have  sent 
her  to  this  country  alone.  It  was  the  authorities 
of  the  Baptist  College,  in  the  town  consecrated  to 
Henry  Martyn's  memory,  who  granted  their  hall 
to  Anandabai,  when  the  clamor  of  the  natives  at 
Serampore  interfered  with  the  transaction  of  the 
public  business.  It  was  under  the  convoy  of 
missionaries  that  she  finally  came  to  America; 
and  the  friends  who  received  and  cherished  her 
in  Eoselle  and  Philadelphia  were  Christians,  and 
others  were  clergy  of  the  "  broad  Unitarian " 


160  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

church.  If  there  had  been  a  spark  of  nobleness 
in  this  Gopal's  breast,  would  he  not  have  known 
how  to  tell  his  truth  without  repulsing  his  best 
friends  ? 

Some  one,  at  the  close  of  the  lecture,  asked  Mr. 
Joshee  if  what  he  had  said  of  the  Missionaries 
applied  to  Mr.  DalL  He  hesitated  a  moment,  and 
then  said  "  I  do  not  know  Mr.  DalL"  And  yet, 
when  a  month  later  the  news  of  Mr.  Dall's  death 
had  come,  he  wrote  to  me  that  I  could  not  im- 
agine "  how  much  he  was  beloved  in  India  ! " 

It  happened  about  this  time  that  Mr.  Joshee 
and  Anandabai  were  invited  to  attend  a  mission- 
ary meeting  a  few  miles  from  New  York.  The 
friends  whom  they  were  visiting  accompanied 
them  with  fear  and  trembling,  having  frequently 
heard  Gopal  express  himself  as  he  did  in  his 
letter  to  "  The  Index ; "  but  to  their  surprise,  he 
deli vered  a  delightful  address  which  pleased  every- 
body. He  told  pleasant  stories,  described  the 
missionary  buildings  and  schools,  and  was  loudly 
applauded. 

"  What  does  this  mean,  Mr.  Joshee  ? "  said  one 
of  his  friends,  indignant  at  what  she  considered 
his  duplicity.  "  How  does  this  agree  with  what 
you  were  telling  me  last  night  ? "  "I  must  tell 
them  what  they  want  to  hear,"  said  he,  as  if  it 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  161 

were  a  point  of  manners;  "this  is  what  they 
were  expecting!" 

Such  transparent  manoeuvring  would  hardly 
seem  worth  while,  and  this  matter  concerns  us 
only  as  it  affected  the  health  and  spirits  of  Dr. 
Joshee.  Obediently  she  went  with  her  husband 
to  Concord,  sitting  by  him  throughout  his  long 
tirade,  silent  and  suffering.  "  She  does  not  look 
very  attractive,"  said  a  lady  in  the  audience,  "  but 
I  wish  she  would  tell  us  what  she  thinks." 

On  the  first  of  July  she  reached  Roselle.  Her 
friends  there  saw  that  something  needed  to  be 
done,  but  a  thorough  medical  examination  does 
not  seem  to  have  been  thought  of. 

Finally,  Dr.  Joshee  started  on  the  10th  of  July 
with  Mrs.  Carpenter's  oldest  daughter  on  a  jour- 
ney to  Delaware  County,  New  York.  Here  the 
elevation  was  about  fifteen  hundred  feet  above  the 
sea-level.  Whether  her  lungs  were  in  a  condition 
to  bear  the  sudden  change  from  the  lowlands  of 
New  Jersey  may  be  doubted.  The  first  day  she 
complained  of  pain  and  nausea.  The  next  she 
was  better  and  wrote  :  — 

"  We  are  having  lovely  times.    I  have  not  botanized, 

but  we  roam  about  and  work.      Sometimes  we  find 

nice  little  strawberry  patches  and  we  eat  of  the  fruit 

heartily.      The  day  before  yesterday  Eighmie  and  I 

11 


162  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

went  to  Aunt   Jenny's.      I  took  my  '  crazy '   work 
with  me,  and  made  one  block." 

But  this  cheerful  strain  could  not  last.  On 
the  20th  of  July  these  words  came  to  Mrs. 
Carpenter :  — 

"  How  I  wish  you  were  here.  I  won't  stay  much 
longer,  for  I  have  been  ill  ever  since  I  came.  I  am 
having  chills  three  times  a  day,  and  fever.  My  whole 
body  is  aching.  If  you  do  not  come  within  a  reason- 
able time,  I  shall  leave  this  place  and  go  to  you.  I 
am  afraid  I  shall  not  see  you  much  before  I  go  to 
India." 

In  this  letter  she  mentions  having  been  for  ten 
hours  in  attendance  on  a  difficult  delivery.  On 
the  23d  she  continues  :  — 

"  I  am  now  having  two  chills  daily,  and  fever  after 
each  one.  My  throat  is  so  inflamed  that  it  keeps  me 
coughing  all  the  time.  Last  night  I  did  not  have  five 
minutes'  rest." 

It  is  evident  that  she  had  been  for  some  time  a 
victim  of  malaria,  but  had  not  had  enough  vitality 
to  develop  chills.  As  soon  as  the  invigorating 
quality  of  the  mountain  air  made  itself  felt,  they 
were  exhibited.  Her  husband  now  went  to  her, 
and  in  a  few  days  the  Carpenters  followed.  It 
had  been  all  along  intended  that  Dr.  Bodley, 


LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  163 

Dr.  Joshee,  and  Ramabai  should  go  from  Roch- 
ester about  this  time  to  Niagara,  Cincinnati,  and 
Chicago,  perhaps  even  to  St.  Louis.  So  little 
did  those  who  loved  Anandabai  best,  realize  her 
condition,  that  it  was  thought  this  long  and  ex- 
hausting journey  might  benefit  her.  When  Mrs. 
Carpenter  reached  her,  in  Delaware  County,  she 
found  her  bright  and  cheerful,  but  with  a  trouble- 
some cough.  Anandabai  was  busy  putting  to- 
gether a  silk  quilt,  the  various  blocks  of  which 
had  been  contributed  by  her  American  friends. 
In  spite  of  all  that  she  and  her  friends  could  do  it 
could  not  be  finished,  and  was  laid  aside  till  her 
return  to  Roselle.  She  knew  that  Hospital  work 
would  leave  her  no  time  for  it  in  India. 

Dean  Bodley,  who  never  loses  an  opportunity 
to  advance  the  interests  of  women,  had  forwarded 
an  account  of  the  graduation  exercises  in  Phila- 
delphia to  her  Majesty  Queen  Victoria,  who  has 
been  supposed,  possibly  with  injustice,  to  disap- 
prove of  the  medical  education  of  women.  Early 
in  August  Dr.  Bodley  received  in  acknowledg- 
ment of  her  communication  the  following  letter 
from  Sir  Henry  Ponsonby,  the  Queen's  Private 
Secretary. 

It  was  addressed  to  the  British  legation  in  this 
country. 


164  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

FROM  WINDSOR  July  14th,  1886. 
I  am  commanded  by  the  Queen  to  request  that 
you  will  kindly  thank  Dr.  Bodley  for  having  sent  to 
her  Majesty  the  account  of  Dr.  Joshee's  graduation  at 
the  Woman's  Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
to  assure  you  that  the  Queen  has  read  it  with  much 
interest. 

On  the  ninth  of  August,  Anandabai  went  to 
Bochester.  Her  husband  had  gone  a  few  days  in 
advance,  and  two  days  after  Mrs.  Carpenter  re- 
ceived the  following  touching  letter:  — 

EOCHESTER,  N.  Y.,  Aug.  10th,  1886. 

MY  DEAR  AUNT,  —  I  arrived  at  the  station  at  9.05 
p.  M.  and  at  this  place  at  10.10  P.  M.  I  had  a  very 
pleasant  and  comfortable  journey.  I  was  not  at  all 
sick,  and  did  not  cough  more  than  six  or  seven  times. 
I  was  not  at  all  hungry,  and  ate  nothing  until  after 
7  o'clock.  Mr.  Joshee  did  not  come  to  meet  me  in 
time,  but  it  was  not  his  fault.  I  wrote  him  that  the 
train  arrived  at  9.55,  so  he  did  not  start  till  after  I 
had  arrived.  I  inquired  at  the  station  and  took  the 
tramway  near  it.  I  told  the  conductor  where  I  wanted 
to  go.  He  told  me  where  to  change  cars  and  where 
to  walk  on  the  street.  Every  house  was  dark  and  I 
could  not  tell  where  I  was. 

Finally  I  found  some  people  sitting  on  a  piazza, 
and  asked  them  what  number  their  house  bore. 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  165 

They  said  seventy,  so  I  turned  and  went  back.  Mr. 
Joshee  came  in  forty  minutes  after  I  found  the  house. 
I  had  a  terrible  coughing  spell  in  the  street  car.  I 
found  a  white  piece  which  I  thought  was  five  cents, 
and  dropped  it  in.  The  good  driver  looked  in  the 
box  and  asked  me  if  I  had  put  in  some  money.  I 
said,  Yes,  when  he  showed  me  that  I  had  put  in  25 
cents.  He  was  very  sorry,  and  so  was  I,  but  I  did 
not  say  anything.  The  honest  driver  could  not  open 
the  box,  but  he  managed  so  nicely  that  I  got  twenty 
cents  back.  A  gentleman  who  stepped  in  was  told  by 
the  driver  of  my  mistake  and  paid  me  his  fare ;  nor 
did  the  driver  let  anybody  put  in  another  fare  till  I 
had  my  twenty  cents  back.  I  could  not  help  feeling 
extremely  grateful  to  the  stranger  for  his  kindness. 
My  impression  is  that  the  drivers  are  honest.  This  is 
the  way  I  have  always  found  people.  My  experience 
is  better  than  Timon's. 

I  can't  write  any  better  and  cough  too. 

Affectionately  yours, 

ANANDABAI. 

On  the  20th  of  August  the  following  letter 
came  to  Mrs.  Carpenter,  but  not  in  Anandabai's 
handwriting.  It  was  dictated  to  her  companion, 
and  shows  an  utter  self-forgetfulness,  in  the  deadly 
grasp  of  her  disease.  Dr.  Bodley  found  herself 
unable  to  take  the  journey,  for  which  she  prob- 
ably considered  Anandabai  unfit.  This  settled, 


166       LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

Anandabai  planned  with  cheerful  courage  for  her- 
self, and  strove  in  this  her  last  struggle  against 
fate  to  gratify  the  .trivial  but  natural  curiosity 
of  those  she  met. 

ROCHESTER,  Aug.  18th,  1887. 

MY  DEAR  AUNT, — Your  letters  are  at  hand.  Dr. 
Bodley  is  not  able  to  go  with  me,  so  I  shall  leave 
Rochester  for  the  Falls  on  the  20th.  Mr.  Joshee 
will  go  with  me  as  far  as  the  Falls.  He  will  put  me 
in  the  cars  for  Chicago,  where  my  friend  will  meet 
me.  She  will  show  me  everything  worth  seeing  in 
that  City.  From  Chicago  I  shall  buy  a  ticket  to 
Warren sburg,  Missouri,  where  Dr.  Smith  will  meet 
me.  I  shall  leave  Dr.  Smith  to  go  to  Cincinnati, 
where  I  shall  meet  Dr.  Bodley.  Will  you  be  kind 
enough  to  send  my  red  silk  saree  which  is  in  the 
trunk,  and  either  my  shawl  or  my  graduating  dress  ? 
My  friends  are  so  disappointed  that  I  have  not  any 
pretty  dresses  with  me !  and  Dr.  Smith  wants  me  to 
bring  some  pretty  sarees.  They  will  not  get  lost  if 
they  are  expressed.  My  cough  is  not'  any  better. 
Love  to  all. 

In  some  way  Dr.  Bodley  forced  her  own  plans 
to  bend  to  Anandabai's  need,  for  before  Anandabai 
could  start  she  joined  her  with  Ramabai  at  Roch- 
ester, and  it  was  at  once  decided  that  the  Western 
journey  must  not  be  undertaken. 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAJ  JOSHEE.  167 

r 

They  determined  to  go  to  the  Falls  and  from 
thence  to  Philadelphia,  that  Anandabai  might 
have  rest  and  treatment  at  the  Woman's  Hospital. 
At  Carlisle,  on  the  route  to  Philadelphia,  there  is 
an  Indian  school  superintended  by  my  friend  Capt. 
Pratt,  under  the  auspices  of  the  United  States 
Government.  Dr.  Joshee  felt  the  most  intense 
interest  in  everything  relating  to  the  colored  races 
in  this  country,  and  had  long  desired  to  visit  this 
especial  school,  where  Indian  youth  of  both  sexes 
are  trained  in  such  practical  knowledge  as  will 
fit  them  for  civilized  life. 

In  spite  of  such  terrible  suffering  as  her  disease 
now  involved,  her  interest  did  not  flag,  and  it 
was  to  gratify  her  that  it  was  decided  to  stop 
at  Carlisle  on  the  way  to  Philadelphia.  On 
the  27th  of  August  I  received  in  Buffalo  a  line 
or  two  dictated  by  Anandabai,  and  written  by 
Dr.  Bodley  in  the  Central  Depot,  where  they  were 
obliged  to  wait  more  than  an  hour  for  a  train  that 
would  go  direct  to  Carlisle.  Why  could  I  not 
have  met  her  and  gone  with  her?  Had  I  done 
so,  I  should  have  endeavored  to  prevent  her  im- 
mediate departure,  and  the  terrible  suffering  of 
the  journey  to  India  might  have  been  averted. 

She  greatly  enjoyed  her  brief  glimpse  of  the 
Carlisle  school  After  remaining  for  ten  days  at 


168  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

the  Woman's  Hospital  in  Philadelphia,  Eamabai 
carried  her  home  to  Eoselle. 

Here  her  last  month  in  America  was  to  be 
spent.  She  fully  believed  that  there  was  a  chance 
of  restoration  in  the  sea-voyage  and  her  native  air ; 
but  a  few  words  spoken  at  Roxbury  showed  me 
that  if  the  end  came,  she  was  ready.  To  her  the 
thought  of  death  was  not  — 

"  So  much  even  as  the  lifting  of  a  latch, 
Only  a  step  into  the  open  air, 
Out  of  a  tent  already  luminous 
With  light  that  shone  through  its  transparent  walls." 

These  words,  taken  from  Longfellow's  "  Golden  Le- 
gend," had  their  origin  in  the  fervid  imagination 
of  Father  Taylor,  but  they  would  have  dropped 
naturally  from  Anandabai's  lips.  She  had  come 
to  see  clearly  through  those  "transparent  walls," 
and  the  most  bigoted  missionary  might  have  been 
content  to  hear  her  say,  "  Write  me  as  one  who 
loves  her  fellow-men."  She  expected  if  she  reached 
Bombay  alive  to  go  first  to  Nassik,  where  her 
husband's  mother  resided,  and  make  arrangements 
for  the  removal  of  the  whole  family  to  Kolhapur, 
where  she  intended  to  provide  for  them.  Fresh 
anxieties  would  wait  upon  this  step,  for  Nassik 
is  the  centre  of  Brahminism  in  the  Bombay  Presi- 
dency. She  put  them  steadily  aside,  determined 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  169 

to  cast  no  wilful  shadow  over  the  last  days  with 
those  she  loved. 

Of  those  days  Mrs  Carpenter  shall  tell  the 
story. 

"Her  strength  was  so  far  reduced  that  during  the 
four  weeks  that  she  remained  with  us  the  greater 
part  of  the  time  was  spent  in  bed  or  on  the  lounge, 
although  she  generally  joined  us  at  lunch  or  dinner. 
With  her  husband,  her  cousin,  and  Mr.  Sattay  in  the 
house,  there  was  everything  to  make  her  last  days 
here  as  comfortable  as  her  condition  would  allow, 
and  in  the  merry  social  converse,  in  which  she  eagerly 
joined,  she  would  have  forgotten  that  she  was  an 
invalid,  had  it  not  been  for  the  frequent  and  periodical 
taking  of  medicine. 

"At  no  time  did  any  of  the  'gloom'  of  the  sick- 
room attend  her.  Everything  was  done  to  make  those 
precious  days  as  bright  and  cheerful  as  possible.  It 
was  too  hard  to  believe  that  all  the  efforts  of  her 
physicians  would  be  in  vain,  and  we  tried  to  shut  our 
eyes  to  the  heart-rending  truth." 

When  the  packing  was  all  done,  of  the  eleven 
trunks,  eight  contained  nothing  but  souvenirs,  and 
the  remaining  three  held  a  goodly  proportion  of 
the  same.  Into  one  of  these  had  gone  the  silk 
quilt  which  Anandabai's  loving  heart  had  made 
a  last  effort  to  put  together.  Dr.  Joshee's  skill 


170  LIFE  OF  ANAKDABAI  JOSHEE. 

in  sewing  was  something  unusual  among  her  coun- 
trywomen, and  was  perhaps  due  to  the  Mission 
school  in  Bombay.  The  Hindu  dress  requires  few 
stitches,  and  embroidery  and  ornamental  work  are 
usually  done  by  men. 

Dr.  Joshee  had  dreaded  this  final  packing,  but 
when  the  hour  for  it  came,  all  she  could  do  was  to 
lie  still  and  look  on. 

"The  morning  of  Oct.  9th,  1886,  dawned  bright 
and  clear.  The  carriage  was  ordered  half  an  hour  in 
advance  of  the  train,"  Mrs.  Carpenter  goes  on  to  say, 
"that  Anandabai  might  see  once  more  every  home 
that  had  been  open  to  her,  and  take  a  last  look  at 
that  she  had  called  her  own.  The  bright  sun  and  the 
soft  air  were  not  too  bright  or  soft  for  this  parting 
hour.  The  motion  of  the  cars  made  her  uncom- 
fortable, and  she  leaned  on  my  shoulder  for  support 
until  we  reached  the  carriage  in  New  York.  This 
took  us  to  the  'Etruria.'  She  was  very  weak,  but 
sat  firmly  in  her  seat  as  we  drove,  looking  almost 
as  bright  as  the  flowers  she  carried.  She  was  glad  to 
lie  down  as  soon  as  we  reached  the  steamer.  Not 
for  a  moment  did  she  give  way.  A  struggle  between 
her  weak  body  and  her  strong  soul  had  been  going  on 
for  days." 

The  party  that  accompanied  Dr.  Joshee  to  the 
steamer  consisted  only  of  Mrs.  Carpenter,  her 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  171 

husband,  and  two  children,  the  Pundita  Eama- 
bai,  and  Mr.  Sattay,  the  Hindu  friend  who  had 
been  with  them  all  during  the  last  weeks.  To 
the  last  moment  these  friends,  forgetting  their 
grief,  occupied  themselves  with  the  doctor,  stew- 
ardess, and  others,  in  arrangements  for  the  inva- 
lid's comfort.  The  purser  and  steward  had  been 
instructed  by  the  agent  of  the  line  to  show  Dr. 
Joshee  special  favor  in  regard  to  diet,  and  the 
physician  in  charge  promised  watchful  care. 

During  the  month  that  preceded  Anandabai's 
departure,  I  heard  from  Gopal  twice,  but  he  wrote 
about  articles  that  were  to  be  sent  to  her  from 
Washington,  and  not  one  serious  word  was  writ- 
ten about  Anandabai's  health.  In  July  she  had 
written  from  Delaware  County,  "I  am  coughing 
with  each  turn  of  my  pen."  In  August  she 
adds : — 

"  I  have  not  as  much  strength  as  when  I  left  Dela- 
ware County.  I  do  not  feel  able  to  go  to  Chicago,  and 
after  rest  and  care  shall  go  home.  Do  not  worry,  for 
there  is  no  need  at  all." 

From  Philadelphia  she  once  wrote  :  — 

"  Even  the  least  breeze  seems  to  abuse  me.  K"o  one 
in  the  house  realizes  the  trouble  as  my  Doctor  and  I 
do,  and  no  one  need. 


172  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

"My  headache,  which  is  reflex,  is  perfectly  intol- 
erable. It  is  aggravated  by  every  attempt  to  think." 

When  I  connect  the  allusions  to  her  health  in 
my  own  letters  with  the  fuller  extracts  furnished 
from  Mrs.  Carpenter's,  I  feel  sure  that  Anandabai 
was  not  deceived  as  to  her  own  condition. 

For  the  details  of  her  journey  we  are  obliged  to 
depend  on  her  husband's  letters. 

He  writes  first  from  the  steamer  "Etruria," 
Oct.  llth,  two  days  after  they  had  set  sail.  The 
weather  had  been  rough,  and  Dr.  Joshee  had  not 
left  her  bed.  The  Doctor  and  all  the  officers  were 
very  attentive.  On  the  13th  she  had  a  very  bad 
night,  and  required  the  constant  attendance  of  her 
husband  and  the  physician.  Gopal  writes  that  he 
"  prayed  to  God  for  mercy." 

In  the  morning  she  was  lifted  from  her  bed 
that  it  might  be  aired,  but  could  not  bear  the 
sofa  even.for  a  moment.  An  opiate  was  given. 

A  severe  storm  followed,  and  when  they  reached 
Liverpool  on  the  morning  of  the  17th  Anandabai 
•was  almost  hopeless,  and  Gopal  was  much  ex- 
hausted by  the  unusual  labors  of  a  nurse, — 
labors  from  which,  oddly  enough  if  we  look  at 
it  from  a  religious  point  of  view,  every  high  caste 
male  Hindu  is  taught  to  shrink. 

Our  next  iuformation   comes   through   a  very 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  173 

painful  letter  published  in  "The  Index"  of  Dec. 
23d,  1886,  and  which  must  have  been  written, 
one  would  hope,  when  Gopal's  mind  was  sore 
distraught. 

In  this  letter  he  writes  :  — 

"We  are  as  you  know  vegetarians.  On  board  the 
'  Etruria '  especial  attention  was  paid  to  our  food.  The 
chief  steward  sent  us  any  quantity  of  grapes,  apples, 
pears,  and  peaches,  beside  vegetable  soups,  baked 
apples,  and  tomatoes,  ice-creams  and  puddings.  On 
that  steamer  we  were  respected. 

"  "We  came  from  New  York  to  Liverpool  well  cared 
for  and  looked  after.  The  Doctor  on  board  called 
twice  a  day.  The  steward  and  stewardess  were  always 
in  attendance  whenever  the  bell  rang. 

"  While  Dr.  Joshee  was  in  America,  and  up  to  the 
time  of  her  landing  in  England,  she  never  knew  what 
kind  of  animosity  was  fostered  by  the  English  between 
the  black  and  white  races.  She  had  lived  among 
white  people  for  nearly  four  years  respectfully  treated 
as  a  lady." 

And  yet  how  bitterly  Gopal  had  upbraided  her 
friends  in  America  for  not  showing  sufficient  con- 
sideration for  her  race  and  habits  ! 

They  had  sailed  from  New  York  Oct.  9th,  and 
reached  London  Oct.  18th,  if  I  can  trust  Mr. 
Joshee's  figures. 


174  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

The  temptation  to  quote  the  whole  of  this  letter 
is  strong,  for  in  no  other  way  could  I  so  fully 
justify  to  my  reader  what  I  have  felt  it  necessary 
to  indicate  of  Mr.  Joshee's  temper  and  excitable 
nature ;  but  I  forbear. 

Thomas  Cook  &  Son,  who  booked  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Joshee  from  New  York  to  Bombay,  had  secured 
by  telegraph  a  berth  in  the  British  Steamer 
"Hergoda."  On  their  arrival  in  London  on  the 
18th,  their  baggage  was  immediately  transferred 
at  a  heavy  expense  to  this  steamer.  Gopal  then 
went  to  the  office  of  Cook  &  Co.  to  ascertain 
exactly  when  the  steamer  would  sail.  He  wished 
to  leave  the  country  as  soon  as  possible,  being  sure, 
he  says,  that  if  he  did  not  he  should  be  "  impris- 
oned for  life"  or  "  committed  to  the  gallows" !  !  ! 
Cook  &  Co.  could  not  furnish  the  information 
he  wanted,  and  he  was  sent  to  the  office  of  the 
British  India  Steamship  Co.  Here  he  was  refused 
a  ticket  on  the  ground  that  the  passage  money 
was  not  yet  paid,  and  they  would  not  grant  it 
now  that  they  knew  the  passenger  would  be  a 
Hindu  lady.  "  I  was  all  wrath  and  indignation," 
Mr.  Joshee  goes  on,  "  I  burst,  as  is  my  wont,  into 
bitter  exclamations.  I  abused  the  English  right 
and  left,  and  said  that  their  houses  in  India  should 
be  blown  up,  and  every  insult  retaliated  by  blood- 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  175 

shed."  Such  words  as  these,  and  the  far  worse 
words  that  followed,  could  hardly  have  availed  to 
secure  the  accommodation  that  he  wanted.  It  is 
impossible  to  understand  this  story  as  Gopal  tells 
it.  Hindu  passengers  and  European  passengers 
of  every  rank  are  constantly  making  the  passage 
from  India  to  England  and  back  in  the  same 
vessel,  and  there  is  nothing  in  the  public  opinion 
of  England  to  sustain  the  outrage  here  described. 

Mr.  Joshee  does  not  forget  to  tell  us  that  in 
this  sharp  trial  Anandabai  remained  "  firm  as  a 
rock"  When  he  returned  to  the  hotel,  he  met 
there  two  ladies,  who,  unable  to  believe  the  story, 
went  to  the  office  of  Cook  &  Co.  The  next  day, 
the  20th  of  October,  Mr.  Joshee  called  on  the 
husband  of  one  of  these  ladies,  and  on  finding 
what  was  necessary  to  enable  the  travellers  to  take 
the  outgoing  P.  &  0.  steamer  which  was  to  sail 
on  the  21st,  Mr.  Pattison  handed  Mr.  Joshee  "  a 
check  for  eighty  or  ninety  pounds."  Is  it  not 
a  little  singular  that  Gopal  does  not  remember 
which?  In  speaking  of  Mrs.  Pattison  Mr.  Joshee 
says,  "  Her  words  at  parting  were  more  consoling 
and  redeeming  than  all  the  dollars  Mrs.  Joshee 
received  as  presents  from  her  American  friends  in 
pomp."  These  words  are  printed  and  I  cannot 
pass  them  by.  Not  only  did  Dr.  Joshee  receive 


176  LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

many  gifts  from  the  ladies  of  Philadelphia,  but 
many  benefactions  were  offered  to  her  husband 
for  her  sake,  and  with  a  delicacy  which  hid  from 
every  "  left  hand  "  what  the  "  right  hand  "  did. 

From  this  moment,  if  we  are  to  believe  Mr. 
Joshee,  everything  went  ill  with  the  travellers  un- 
til they  reached  Bombay.  Dr.  Joshee  was  rudely 
treated  by  the  steward  and  the  subordinates  on 
board  the  "Peshawur."  Mr.  Joshee  had  made 
one  serious  mistake  at  the  outset,  in  booking  him- 
self as  the  servant  of  his  wife.  He  gives  no  rea- 
son for  this,  save  lack  of  funds  and  "curiosity." 
Why  there  should  have  been  any  "  lack  of  funds  " 
it  is  difficult  to  understand.  The  Dewan  of  Kol- 
hapur  was  to  pay  all  the  expenses  of  the  new 
superintendent  of  the  Albert  Edward  wards,  and 
the  large  amount  of  money  known  to  have  passed 
into  Mr.  Joshee's  hands,  makes  it  impossible  to 
understand  why  he  could  not  pay  his  own  pas- 
sage. His  wife  was  far  too  ill  to  be  left  alone  at 
night  or  to  be  without  an  attendant  of  her  own 
sex.  If  by  "  curiosity "  is  meant  a  desire  to  see 
how  much  irritation  and  ill-will  he  could  excite 
by  his  own  violence  and  perversity,  we  cannot 
deny  that  his  experiment  succeeded.  I  take  com- 
fort in  believing  that  this  letter  never  met  Anan- 
dabai's  eyes.  I  remember  the  sweet  tones  of  her 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAJ  JOSHEE.  177 

voice  as  she  said  soon  after  her  arrival  in  this 
country,  "  I  know  there  are  many  good  husbands 
in  the  United  States.  I  see  that  they  make  their 
wives  happy.  But  among  them  all  there  is  not 
one  so  good  as  my  husband."  If  this  letter  had 
come  into  her  hands,  she  would  have  seen  in  it 
many  statements  that  she  would  never  have  au- 
thorized. I  am  glad  that  this  pang  was  not  added 
to  all  the  rest. 

Indirectly  we  heard  that  Anandabai  took  cold 
in  a  severe  storm  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  and 
reached  Gibraltar  in  a  very  critical  state.  From 
Gibraltar  Mr.  Joshee  goes  on :  — 

"  The  day  we  left  London  Dr.  Joshee  felt  bright, 
and  was  able  to  go  on  deck  without  assistance.  I, 
being  only  her  native  servant,  had  to  stay  away  till 
sent  for.  The  second  day  she  sat  there  reading.  Now 
she  is  again  confined  to  her  bed,  as  ill  as  she  was 
when  she  last  reached  Eoselle.  Now  I  am  with  her 
day  and  night,  and  she  will  soon  be  better.  The  sea  is 
calm ;  it  troubles  us  far  less  than  the  people." 

In  this  letter  came  a  few  lines  from  Anandabai 
to  Mrs.  Carpenter,  the  last  she  ever  wrote. 

"  I  am  stronger,"  she  says,  "  cough  better,  throat 
worse.      I   shall  improve  when   I   am   able   to   eat. 
There  has  not  been  an  hour  since  I  left  New  York 
12 


178  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

when   I  have  not  missed  your  precious  self.    I  am 
writing  in  bed,  and  see  my  Doctor  twice  a  day." 

At  Malta  they  paused  a  little  while  to  take  in 
water,  fruit,  and  vegetables. 

Mr.  Joshee  complains  of  the  diet  on  board  this 
steamer;  but  neither  ice  nor  fruit  is  sufficiently 
cheap  in  London  for  the  company  to  supply  the 
P.  &  O.  steamers  as  they  do  those  of  the  Cu- 
nard  line,  and  for  that  reason  travellers  usually 
supply  their  own  delicacies.  On  the  third  of 
November  they  entered  the  Suez  Canal.  Twelve 
days  ought  to  take  them  to  Bombay.  Anandabai 
grew  hopeful  again,  and  mentioned,  her  husband 
says,  "  a  thousand  and  one  things  that  she  would 
like  to  eat."  The  three  days  in  the  Eed  Sea 
were  intensely  hot,  and  at  a  great  risk  Anandabai's 
warmest  wraps  were  removed.  Her  cough  was 
severe,  and  she  seems  to  have  been  wholly  sus- 
tained by  stimulants. 

Mr.  Joshee  alludes  in  a  letter  from  Aden  to 
various  annoyances  arising  from  their  color,  and 
adds  that  an  unknown  friend  on  board,  who  had 
heard  of  their  trouble  in  London,  sent  to  offer 
them  money  if  they  needed  it.  "  Patient  of  hard- 
ships," Anandabai  reached  Bombay.  The  letters 
which  detailed  the  landing  never  reached  us,  but 
it  could  not  have  been  later  than  the  17th  of 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  179 

November.  She  was  received  with  distinction 
and  extraordinary  marks  of  regard.  Those  who 
expected  to  see  her  excommunicated  and  abused, 
saw  on  the  contrary  the  eyes  of  grave  men  filling 
with  tears  as  they  gazed  upon  her  wasted  form, 
and  heard  the  strong  voices  of  priests  and  pundits 
echoing  her  praises. 

She  lingered  for  some  time  in  Bombay  or  that 
neighborhood  to  take  the  advice  of  distinguished 
European  physicians. 

It  must  always  be  remembered  to  Mr.  Joshee's 
honour,  that  during  this  long  voyage,  in  the  last 
half  of  which  Anandabai  was  certainly  fatally  ill, 
he  waited  upon  his  wife  with  devoted  tender- 
ness, and  she  preferred  his  care  to  that  of  every 
other.  The  prospect  of  a  life  at  his  side  had  faded, 
and  ceased  to  perplex  her.  She  was  glad  to  rest 
in  a  love  already  tested.  For  many  things  she 
must  have  suffered;  but  against  the  customs  of 
his  country-people  and  in  spite  of  the  injunctions 
of  his  creed,  he  waited  upon  her  steadily,  perform- 
ing the  duties  of  a  servant,  and  seeming  to  forget 
the  privileges  of  his  "  sex  and  caste." 

It  may  be  said  that  he  did  this  from  necessity, 
and  with  an  interested  intention  to  save  a  valu- 
able life,  but  I  think  he  did  it  from  pure  affec- 
tion. He  had  done  it  once  before,  to  my  knowl- 


180  LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

edge,  when  neither  necessity  nor  hope  of  gain 
could  possibly  have  influenced  him,  and  when 
it  exposed  him,  as  it  did  now,  to  the  harshest 
contumely,  to  the  most  bitter  scorn. 

At  Bombay  everything  was  against  our  un- 
happy traveller.  For  two  days  the  pleasant 
thought  that  she  was  at  home  roused  her  to  a 
factitious  cheerfulness. 

Her  mother,  younger  sister,  brother,  and  grand- 
mother came  from  various  directions  to  meet  her. 
They  could  not  tempt  her  with  the  food  she  had 
longed  for.  The  friends  with  whom  they  stayed 
were  devoted,  but  their  habits  were  not  those  of 
the  Mahrattas.  They  removed  from  house  to 
house.  Their  first  resting-place  was  too  damp. 
At  the  next  they  were  received  for  a  short  time 
only ;  and  when  we  remember  with  what  prompt- 
ness Dr.  Joshee's  practical  sense  would  have  con- 
quered all  these  difficulties  had  she  been  well  and 
acting  for  any  one  else,  we  realize  how  ill  she 
must  have  been  when  she  lay  there  quietly,  "  noth- 
ing asking,  nothing  doubting." 

She  had  not  however  given  up  all  hope,  for 
she  desired  that  subscriptions  should  be  made  to 
several  medical  journals  in  America,  the  money 
to  be  forwarded  after  she  reached  Kolhapur.  She 
was  impatient  to  reach  Poonah,  but  at  first  her 


LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  181 

physicians  would  not  allow  it.  This  depressed 
her,  and  her  husband  saw  her  wasting  to  a  shad- 
ow, and  became  more  and  more  uncertain  and 
harassed. 

He  says  he  has  no  time  to  write.  The  interest 
in  Dr.  Joshee  made  her  a  national  centre.  "  All 
India  is  in  travail  for  her." 

Physicians  were  often  changed.  At  last  one 
was  found  who  probably  saw  the  case  to  be  hope- 
less, and  consented  to  her  going  to  Poonah  on  the 
9th  of  December. 

On  the  16th  Gopal  writes :  — 

"We  are  now  in  the  place  where  Dr.  Joshee  was 
born.  As  we  came  up  into  the  hills,  she  brightened 
up.  At  first  her  cough  was  better.  We  sent  for 
one  native  doctor  in  whom  we  have  full  confidence, 
and  whose  remedies  were  very  gentle,  but  collapse 
followed." 

The  people  of  Poonah  spent  hours  in  praying 
for  her  recovery,  but  they  crowded  the  house  and 
made  it  difficult  to  take  proper  care  of  her. 

"Some  come  from  curiosity,  some  from  sympathy 
and  affection,"  writes  Gopal.  "  Those  who  scarcely  ever 
leave  their  houses  come  to  see  her,  the  good  among 
the  orthodox  and  the  superstitious,  forgetting  that 
we  have  been  to  America.  Dr.  Joshee's  illness  is 
the  concern  of  all.  Siva  is  our  God  of  Death.  To 


182  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

appease  him,  water  is  gently  trickled  over  his  head 
for  hours  daily.  The  people  are  doing  it  now.  Every 
day  the  Brahmins  put  ashes  on  Dr.  Joshee's  fore- 
head, and  she  touches  a  bit  with  her  mouth.  Col- 
umns are  printed  in  the  newspapers  about  her  condi- 
tion. /  write  to  you  but  do  you  reply  to  her,  that 
she  may  feel  as  if  the  letter  were  her  own.  A  word 
from  you  is  a  tonic." 

On  February  10th  he  can  only  repeat  the  same 
sad  story.  They  moved  once  or  twice  in  Poonah, 
and  finally  went  to  the  old  house  of  Anandabai's 
great-uncle,  where  she  was  born.  He  was  now 
very  aged,  and  seems  to  have  had  a  sort  of  super- 
stitious feeling  that  the  hand  which  brought  her 
into  the  world  could  hold  her  back  from  death. 

It  was  about  the  middle  of  December  that  they 
reached  Poonah,  where  the  grandmother  who  had 
been  her  companion  when  she  left  Kalyan  to 
follow  the  fortunes  of  Gopal  Vinayak,  the  mother 
whose  disapprobation  of  her  career  had  perhaps 
led  her  to  send  bitter  letters  to  the  Missionaries, 
were  ready  to  receive  her.  Here  the  daily  papers 
issued  bulletins  of  her  health ;  here  the  Brahmo, 
the  Hindu,  and  the  Christian  came,  regardless  of 
their  superstitions,  forgetful  of  their  caste,  to  pray 
for  her  who  had  laid  down  her  life  for  their 
sake. 


LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  183 

Gopal  was  now  able  to  leave  her  with  her 
mother  while  he  went  himself  to  offer  sacrifices 
to  the  "  gods,"  and  to  her  "  guardian  planets,"  to 
avert  their  anger  and  her  death.  He  performed 
the  penance  and  paid  the  fees  necessary  to  rein- 
state Anandabai  in  her  caste,  and  all  the  while 
life  was  failing. 

On  the  20th  of  February  it  was  evident  that 
the  end  was  near ;  but  whatever  had  befallen  her 
poor  body,  Anandabai's  spirit  was  serene  and 
sweet.  When  she  found  it  impossible  to  eat, 
Gopal  rebuked  her  mother  as  if  she  had  not  pre- 
pared the  food  with  sufficient  care.  "  The  food  is 
good,"  said  the  poor  patient,  "it  is  I  who  am 
out  of  sorts ! "  She  seems  to  have  had  occasional 
convulsions,  and  to  have  endured  much. 

Gopal  says  of  her :  — 

"  She  suppressed  her  groans  that  others  might  not 
suffer.  When  conscious  she  was  grave,  gentle,  medi- 
tative, and  oh !  so  brave  and  thoughtful.  She  never 
showed  the  slightest  irritability.  She  was  very  strict 
in  everything  relating  to  our  faith.  Do  you  believe 
me?  It  was  so.  Her  maid-servant  must  not  step 
on  the  carpet  at  her  bedside,  and  her  water  bottles 
were  removed  if  a  European  touched  them.  When 
I  remonstrated  against  this  as  a  folly  in  one  who  had 
spent  years  in  America,  she  pleaded  that  her  grand- 


184  LIFE  OF  ANANBABAI  JOSHEE. 

mother,  sister,  and  mother  had  such  an  abhorrence  of 
these  things,  that  she  must  consider  them.  Properly 
speaking,  we  were  outcasts,  but  no  one  reminded  us 
of  it. 

"  A  few  days  ago  the  '  Pacification  of  the  Waters ' 
was  performed  for  her.  Brahmins  were  seated  at 
dinner,  and  her  old  uncle  sent  for  me  that  I  might 
sprinkle  water  on  the  banana  leaves  on  which  the 
food  was  served.  Did  they  consider  me  as  an  outcast 
when  they  asked  me  to  do  this  1  Even  the  reformers 
are  astonished  at  the  manner  in  which  we  have  been 
treated  by  the  most  orthodox  Hindus.  We  have  con- 
quered every  enemy  but  Death." 

The  Mahratta  papers  had  warned  the  physicians 
not  to  allow  their  professional  jealousy  to  inter- 
fere with  "  duty  to  a  patient  in  whom  all  India 
felt  a  national  concern."  I  copy  from  the  Dnyaua 
Chaksu  of  March  2nd,  1887,  the  following  account, 
translated  by  the  Pundita  Eamabai :  — 

"  Although  Anandabai  was  so  young,  her  persever- 
ance, undaunted  courage,  and  devotion  to  her  husband 
were  unparalleled.  It  will  be  long  before  we  again  see 
a  woman  like  her.  The  education  which  she  had 
received  had  greatly  heightened  her  nature  and  en- 
nobled her  mind.  Although  she  suffered  more  than 
words  can  express,  from  her  mortal  disease,  which  was 
consumption,  not  a  word  of  complaint  or  impatience 


LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE.  185 

ever  escaped  her  lips.  After  months  of  dreadful  suf- 
fering, she  was  so  reduced  that  no  one  could  look  on 
her  without  pain ;  yet,  wonderful  to  tell,  Anandabai 
thought  it  her  present  duty  to  suffer  silently  and 
cheerfully." 

It  was  at  midnight  on  the  26th  of  February, 
1887,  that  the  final  call  came.  The  previous  night 
had  been  one  of  great  suffering ;  the  whole  family 
had  been  up  all  night. 

Through  it  all  Anandabai's  face  was  bright  and 
she  spoke  cheerful  words  to  those  about  her.  At 
ten  o'clock,  worn  out  by  anxiety  and  fatigue,  Gopal 
administered  some  medicine  and  went  to  his  own 
bed.  At  midnight  a  strong  convulsion  came  on. 
Anandabai  called  loudly,  but  before  her  mother 
could  lift  her  to  her  bosom,  the  gentle,  faithful 
soul  had  fled. 

Her  last  audible  words  were, ' "  I  have  done  all 
that  I  could."  \ 

"  The  family  then  bathed  the  body  and  decked  it 
with  bright  garments  and  ornaments,  according  to  our 
Hindu  custom,"  her  husband  goes  on  to  say.  "  There 
was  no  time  to  spread  the  sad  news  throughout  the 
city,  but  all  who  had  heard  of  it,  followed  her  remains 
to  the  cremation  ground,  on  the  following  Sunday,  thus 
showing  their  respectful  affection.  Some  of  us  had 
feared  that  the  priests  might  object  to  cremating  the 


186  LIFE  OF  ANANDABAI  JOSHEE. 

body  with  the  sacred  fire,  according  to  the  Hindu 
rites,  but  our  fears  were  groundless.  When  I  offered 
sacrifices  to  avert  her  death,  they  had  gladly  officiated, 
showing  a  generous  liberality." 

Anandabai  needed  neither  vows  nor  sacrifices 
nor  crematory  rites  to  bring  her  soul  to  the  foot 
of  "  The  Great  White  Throne,"  but  she  had  more 
than  once  desired  that  everything  should  be  done, 
after  her  death,  to  gratify  and  appease  those  who 
still  recognized  their  force. 

"  It  will  do  me  no  harm,"  she  said  once,  when 
speaking  to  me  of  such  matters. 

After  the  body  was  placed  upon  the  funeral 
pile,  Mr.  V.  M.  Eanade  made  an  oration  in 
Dr.  Joshee's  honor,  and  the  cremation  was  then 
completed. 

"  But  she  is  dead !  that  sweet  intellectual  soul, 
that  large-brained  self- forgetful  womanly  creature — 
dead  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-one  years  and  eleven 
months  —  dead  on  the  threshold  of  the  work  for  which 
she  was  so  well  equipped !  " 

There  are  those  of  us  who  loving  her  tenderly 
cannot  think  without  pain  of  the  weary  journey, 
undertaken  without  the  needed  nurse  and  com- 
panion ;  but  turning  our  eyes  to  the  country 
which  she  loved,  and  which,  because  she  loved  it, 


LIFE   OF  ANANDABAI   JOSHEE.  187 

she  left,  turning  to  the  countrywomen  whom  she 
died  to  save,  we  feel  that  her  death,  in  sorrow, 
disappointment,  and  bodily  anguish,  will  in  God's 
own  way  accomplish  still  more  than  the  life  for 
which  we  prayed. 


THE    END. 


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